Dragon's Lies
by knux33
Summary: Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears, a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies?SEQUEL TO DRAGON'S EYE
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray Man. I do own the dragon's though.

**Summary**: Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears, with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? SEQUEL TO DRAGON'S EYE.

**"**It often happens, then, that the evil may be recognized by its very disguise. The lie can be perceived before the misdeed it is designed to hide—the cover-up before the fact. We see the smile that hides the hatred, the smooth and oily manner that masks the fury, the velvet glove that covers the fist.

Because they are such experts at disguise, it is seldom possible to pinpoint the maliciousness of the evil. The disguise is usually impenetrable.

But what we can catch are glimpses of 'the uncanny game of hide-and-seek in the obscurity of the soul, in which it, the single human soul, evades itself, avoids itself, hides from itself.'**"**

**Quote** from 'People of the Lie' By _M. Scott Peck, M.D. _(pg.76, 1998 second addition, paperback)

**1.**

(AN:Sort-of continued from Ch.10 of Dragon's Eyes. )

Lavi could almost say that life had become normal once more at the Order. Almost.

"Servant!" A beautiful but dreaded voice called. "Servant, fetch me some of that salmon the cook is making so scrumptiously today!"

Lavi groaned, knowing the dragon did not want an answer or reply, just the demanded food on the double. Running to the cafeteria, Lavi wonder yet again since returning from the Atacama desert just when Allen would get home.

The Order had payed for the trip there and back, but according to several records Allen had not shown up at any of the designated inns or trains for the passed three days.

Hopping the exorcist wasn't totally lost, which he probably was, Lavi grabbed one of the food trays with a heap of salmon upon it and ran back to the dragon's balcony.

Jerry had long since decided to just place heaps of food on one table for the 'dragon handlers' to more easily and quickly feed their charges.

It was a good system, and Lavi was glad for it as he huffed and puffed his way back to Ammy for the thirty-first time that morning alone.

"Very good," Ammy praised him like a dog that did the desired trick, and proceeded to gracefully swallow chucks of the salmon whole.

Lavi sighed and went over to Sunny's side of the balcony to visit Miranda while the orange dragon ate.

Miranda wasn't all by her lonesome, though Lavi highly doubted she was having a good time--

"Please put him down!" She wailed, Sunny holding a poor Noise Marie up to her nose.

"But he is so interesting," Sunny argued, staring at Marie's Innocence. "Does it stay there all the time?"

"M-mostly--" Marie looked very nervous about his current position in the yellow dragon's claws (though she was being very gentle).

"What does it do?" Sunny asked and, much to Miranda's horror, poked the exorcist's head wear.

"It helps me hear things I normally couldn't," Marie informed the dragon calmly, seemingly accepting that he couldn't get down until the dragon's curiosity was satisfied.

"Oh," Sunny's dragon eyes were wide and happy. "Thank-you!"

She plopped him down and Miranda immediately went to Marie and apologized profusely.

"It's alright," The humble man said, "I was quite curious about her as well."

Miranda continued apologizing, seemingly not hearing his attempted replys.

Lavi laughed as he walked up, "Its _alright_ Miranda!" He said in his usual good-humored way, "Its not like the guy was just eaten!"

"I was only looking," Sunny said sternly to Miranda, lowering her massive highlighter-yellow head closer to a humans eye-level. "You must not be so worried all the time!"

"But you are always doing things without asking first!" Miranda said with a groan, "If you could learn to talk politely like Smudge--"

At the mention of the older dragon's name Sunny visibly wilted like an overly-dry sunflower, thinking Miranda would rather have the other creature.

Miranda began to jabber out apologies yet again, Causing Lava and Marie to leave the two to themselves.

"How ya been Marie?" Lavi asked the other exorcist. "We haven't seen you for a while."

"I've been fine," Nose said conversationally. "I've been helping General Tiedoll with the new exorcist."

"Chaoji?" Lavi asked. "How is he? I haven't seen him since we got out of the infirmary."

"Fine," Marie said, the two gravitating toward the third dragon on the balcony and Kanda. "He's getting along well with his innocence."

"Thats good."

"What about Kanda? I heard he also got a dra--"

"Harder!" A shout went out from beyond the black dragon's great bulk. The mass of black scales was twisting and turning like a snake weaving in on itself.

Curious, Lavi and Marie walked around to see, and saw Kanda narrowly dodge a swipe from Smudge's tail.

Kanda yelled out "Faster! You're not even _trying_ you overgrown lizard!"

"I do not wish you hurt you--" Smudge whined, half-heartedly swinging a second time with his claws.

"_Too bad_!" Kanda lunged and in an eye blink was climbing up Smudge's back and smacked him right between the horns with his wooden practice sword. "Dead."

Smudge whined again, looking up at the disgruntled exorcist on his head. "I do not know why you insist on this, you are not an akuma so I do see the purpose in hurting you."

"_Pretend_ I'm an akuma," Kanda growled, throwing away the weapon, as it had snapped on impact with the dragon's scaled skull. "We're practicing this so an enemy has no chance whatsoever of wounding you."

"But you are not my enemy, you are my friend."

"Rabbit!" Kanda snarled at the apprentice Bookman, "Explain to the lump why this is necessary," The raven haired exorcist slide down off of the dragon's head and walked away, "I'm going for lunch."

Smudge looked very depressed at the 'abandonment,' and looked dejectedly at Lavi, pleading with his eyes for understanding.

"Yuu's just grumpy 'cause beansprouts not back yet for him to wrestle with," Lavi said. "And you really should do as he says, I don't think you guys get nearly enough time put into practice fighting."

"But why must we practice?" The dragon said, surrounding Lavi and Marie with his coils as they spoke, a habit he had gotten into. "Why can't we just go out and destroy the akuma _now_?"

"Practice makes perfect," Marie suggested, having known the exorcist the longest. "Kanda just wants to make sure you won't get hurt, and this is just one of the ways he tells people he cares about them."

"Oh," Smudge said, though he still looked confused. "But why can he just not _say_ it then?"

Lavi laughed and patted the dragon, "The day Yuu says he cares about someone is the day he stops calling Allen a 'bean sprout.'"

"Is that day soon?" Smudge sighed, uncoiling. "Because he seems very much alone most of the time. Do you think he needs a mate?"

Lavi stared, then fell to his knees convulsing in giggles. Even Marie couldn't help but give a great booming laugh at that. The two were incapacitated for quite a time, Lavi literally rolling on the ground.

And that is how Kanda found them a few minuets later, nibbling on his soba.

"What's so funny?" The two immediately collected themselves, about to stutter an answer when--

"I was just thinking that you needed a mate." Smudge declared, much to Lavi and Marie's horror. "You seem much too lonely."

A second passed in silence. Two seconds. Three--

"What did you say?" Kanda's manner was quite calm, but the trio could just feel the rage flaming around him like a bonfire.

"Y-you need a mate?" Smudge seemed frightened now, a ridiculous fact due to the size difference between him and the exorcist alone.

Then Lavi noticed something horrible.

"K-Kanda," He said shakily, "W-when did they fix Mugen?"

Kanda smiled, though it was far from reassuring as his blade slipped out of it's sheath with a hiss. "Today."

Marie tried moving away from the young Bookman apprentice, as he seemed to be the target of Kanda's anger. Smudge also abandoned Lavi to the attack.

Lavi noticed them both inching away, "G-guys!"

"What sort of shit have you been feeding my dragon's mind Rabbit?" The sword was freed fully from it's container, truly ringing like a bell now.

"_Nothing_! Tell him Smudge--"

But it was far too late for any sort of explanation now, Kanda lunged and Lavi ran for his life.

Miranda and Sunny had started to begin arguing about apologizing, Marie and Smudge kept their distance from the two, and Ammy laughed uproariously at the scene, picking fish scales out from between her teeth with a talon.

"How much do you want to bet my Servant will evade your Kanda's sword for at least ten minutes?" She said to Smudge, ignoring Lavi's cries for help.

Smudge looked shocked by her statement. "Are you not going to help him?"

"Why? Its his fault for being stupid."

Yes, everything was almost back to normal. Almost.

**/DRDRDR/**

Komui was thinking. Thinking hard. The eggs added by the Atacama desert trip were doing nicely. Well, the thirteen recovered were anyway.

The fourteenth was still out there somewhere, hopefully with the missing Allen Walker.

Why had the innocence taken on this new form?

What was the importance of the 'Musician?'

Where was Allen Walker?

Why was he the 'required player' for the ark?

Where was Lenalee with his coffee ...

So many questions, so little energy. Komui sighed as he observed the data coming in from a nearby machine attached to egg 36, as all of them had now been numbered. But then the supervisor noticed a red light go off.

Active?

_Oh, dear_. The egg was rocking and the monitor beeped hysterically for attention. Komui looked around to see just who the egg could be reacting too.

The only one near the egg was himself, the rest of the staff doing something or other too far away to hear the sirens.

_Oh my._

"Brother!"

The familiar voice made his head snap around to look up at on of the nearby metal platforms.

"Lenalee!" Was it reacting to his little sister?

Komui didn't notice had the said egg was now in pieces, and a small green dragon was snorting at him for attention.

"Hello?" The little lizard said. It was ignored.

Lenalee couldn't have a dragon! The beasts were _rude_--

"Hellooo!" Agitated now, but still ignored.

--they were _vile_--

The small green reptile snorted again, and proceeded to climb Mt. Komui.

--And worst of all--

The green dragon was almost at the top.

--They did not respect his _hat_!

The creature slid in under the rim of the beret, and curled itself up in Komui's curly hair under his favorite hat.

_That,_ the supervisor noticed. "AHHH!"

Poor Komui was running around like a headless chicken, much to Lenalee's confusion. Not seeing the dragon crawl onto his head and under his hat, she just marked it off as her brother's usual behavior.

She got to work passing out cups of coffee and ignored the frantic screaming that was sadly very common in the science department.

"Getitoffgetitoff!"

"What was that Supervisor?" Reever grumbled, trying to analyze a scale sample from Smudge.

"Get it oooooff!" Komui whined, wiggling like something slimy had just crawled under his hat. Which, of course, something had.

Reever could not see the source of distress, and just decided Komui was just being his crazy, sleep deprived self. So the equally sleep-deprived scientist mumbled, "Supervisor, maybe you could go get some sleep. I can take care of the samples we've collected--"

"Get it off!!"

"Poor supervisor," Johnny said, looking up from a pile of paperwork he was filling out. "He's finally gone off of the deep end."

"Think he'll let me have his office?" One of the lab coats whispered.

Komui decided that since the science department seemed so disinclined to help him, he would go screaming somewhere else--

Which he did, loudly.

Followed by several bemused looks, Section Leader Chief Komui ran screaming throughout the Order's headquarters.

Of course, he was in too much of a panic to simply remove the hat. Of course, everyone else was too tired to really care about one screaming Komui. Of course, the little dragon was having the best time of it's short life geling Komui's hair with it's still wet egg goop.

Almost normal. Almost.

**/DRDRDR/**

So that is how, at noon and most everyone was on a lunch break, they had the pleasure of watching Lavi running like mad through the lunch lines, trying to evade the raging Kanda behind him.

Several lunches were destroyed in the process as Lavi used the crowd to try to evade the samurai. His plan wasn't working very well, as Kanda bulldozed through the crowd as Lavi wove around them, getting the attacker closer to him instead of farther away.

And as Kanda closed in behind the Bookman apprentice, that is when Komui made his grand entrance of, "Get it _off_!"

Then there was nothing but chaos.

Food, spilling drinks, a running-redhead, a screaming Komui, and an increasingly agitated Kanda caused madness and mayhem as they made their way through several innocent bystanders and ran back to the balcony.

"Come back here Rabbit and get what's been coming to you!"

"I would, if what's coming to me wasn't a very sharp and pointy object!"

"Get it off!"

Komui seemed to think Kanda was the one to ask to get 'it' off of his head, and Kanda wanted very much to cut _off _Lavi's head, but Lavi very much _liked_ his head where it was and--

(AN: _Pant, pant._ Give me a sec, _pant_, you all laughing, _pant_, just try to do this while carrying a laptop, _pant_, And type a fanfiction, _pant_, at the **same time**, _chokes and falls over. Recovers and_--)

--The three continued on relatively the same method of action, bursting out from the cafeteria and making their way back up to the balcony--

**/DRDRDR/**

"I did not mean to say something offensive," Smudge said to Sunny and Ammy, the three conversing while eating a few roasted deer they had gotten from the forest around the castle and had Ammy roast for a snack. "And whatever is offensive about finding a mate?"

"Maybe he already has one," Sunny suggested, chewing on a thigh-bone. "Though he does not seem the 'caring' type to me."

"Whatever do you mean by that?" Smudge said, clearly miffed by her statement, "Kanda is _very_ caring, he just shows it in a different way than others."

Ammy almost choked on her meat as she guffawed. Smudge waited for her to contain herself and to give an answer.

"That social pincushion-- _caring_?" The orange beast laughed once again, unable to contain herself, Sunny joining her.

Smudge looked very agitated, his scales lifting like a dog's hackles. "I do not see what is so funny."

"You basically asked the _least_ caring human on the balcony to _love_ someone--" Ammy chuckled, "And to possibly have someone love _that_ back."

"I do not like your tone _at all_," Smudge declared, "And I do not wish to speak with you two any longer." He then got up, rising from his position around the meat and stalking off to another end of the balcony. (The dragon equivalent to getting up and leaving the table.)

"Hmph," Sunny snorted, "We were just giving our opinions. I do not see what has agitated him so, we have only said the truth."

"Well, he is free to dislike and disagree." Ammy pointed out, snatching up one last bite of the deer. "I wonder when my Servant is going to reappear?"

Marie, who had been trying to get Miranda to stop apologizing to him since the two had left, told them it would probably take only a few minutes.

"How do you know that?" Ammy asked.

"He can probably hear them coming," Sunny pointed out, remembering his description of his Innocence's power. "Am I right?"

"Yes." Marie told her. "And I think Komui is also with them, the Supervisor has a very distinct yell--"

"_Get it off_!" The named Komui screamed as he ran in after the panting Lavi and growling Kanda.

Ammy started laughing again; Marie and Miranda hastily got out of their way as they raced around the two female dragons lounging in the sun.

Komui, now gasping for air, asked Marie while grabbing his coat, "...Get ... it ... _off _..."

Confused on hearing a second heartbeat on Komui's head, and some squishy sounds, Marie obliged him. Himself, Miranda, and the two present dragons looked down in amusement as a small green lizard glared at them from atop of Komui's head.

"Do you _mind_?" It demanded with a squeak, pulling the hat back down.

"...Komui?" Miranda said in a hushed tone.

"Yes..." The supervisor was in tears as he grasped as his now slimy hat.

"You do realize there is a small, green dragon on your head...?" Sunny asked curiously.

"_Yes_," The dragon refused to be revealed again, so proven by the fact that Komui could not remove the said hat from it's spot on top of his head, even as he yanked at it.

"Well, does the hatchling have a name yet?" Sunny asked, "He really should have a name."

"I don't care about names!" Komui yelled like a child having a tantrum. "Just get the little gremlin out from under my hat _now_!"

"Gremlin!" The little green dragon exclaimed, bursting out from under the hat like a bird, flying in lazy circles around Komui. "Grem-lin, Grem-lin, Grem-lin!" It chirped in a sing-song voice.

'Gremlin' then attached himself to Komui's chest and rubbed affectionately. "Greeeemliiiin."

"_Off_!" Komui screeched.

"_On_!" Gremlin chirped in the same high pitch.

"This is horrible for my ears," Marie mumbled to himself, moving away from the screamers but closer to the two yelling near Smudge.

"If you don't get down within the next five seconds I'm going to _cut _you down."

Lavi had retreated to the top of a surprised Smudge's head. He called down from his perch, "You wouldn't _dare_."

"Five," Kanda began.

"Do you have to hurt Mr. Lavi?" Smudge asked. "It is my fault you were offended."

"Four,"

"Come on Yuu!" Lavi tried desperately. "I didn't do anything!"

"Three,"

Marie thought that this was not going to be pretty, as Kanda was already climbing up the black dragon's tail, sword drawn.

"Two,"

Lavi looked desperate enough to jump the distance from Smudge's head to the ground, and Kanda looked mad enough to follow.

"One."

"LENALEEEEEEE!" Both the hunter and the hunted paused to stare as Komui ran to his sister as she walked though the door.

The girl looked just as surprised as they did when she noticed the small green bundle attached to Komui's lab coat.

"Brother?"

"Get it off, Lenalee!" Komui was begging now.

Everyone was shocked when the small beast voluntarily unhooked itself from the panicking older brother and perched on the younger sister's shoulder, licking her cheek.

"Hello," Lenalee said, "And who is this?"

"Gremlin." The dragon cheeped happily.

"Nice to meet you Gremlin," She said, "I see you've met my brother."

"Brother!" Gremlin launched itself and circled around the two happily.

Komui grumpily tried to get some of the slime out of his hat, with little success. "Well, if that thing is quite done, I'll just go back to work and--"

"Brother!" The green little beast landed right on Komui's head, snuggling itself in his hair.

Komui turned red, "_Off_!"

"_On_!"

Lenalee laughed, and Kanda 'ched' at them. Looking around the samurai noticed Lavi had escaped. The samurai narrowed his eyes at the apprentice Bookman's disappearance, but then turned back to the show.

"Get _off_, Gremlin!"

Gremlin cocked his head at the direct command, and not being called 'it' for once, but never the less switched to Lenalee's head instead.

"Now leave me alone!" Komui would of stalked off after that comment, but the little dragon made a small whine, it's ghostly eyes tearing up.

_He made the little guy cry..._

"Brother!" Lenalee yelled at him. "How can you be so mean! Gremlin just wants to be near you!"

"B-but Lenalee--"

"No buts, you are going to apologize right this second!"

Komui glared at the green monster. "I'm sorry. Ok I said it, can I go now?"

"Brother!" Gremlin cried jubilantly, launching itself at the scientist. It curled around Komui's neck and crooned affectionately.

Before Komui could have another outburst, Marie stopped the noise with a 'shh' at everyone.

"What is it Marie?" Kanda had come down from Smudges back, having given up on finding the apprentice Bookman anywhere nearby.

"Wing beats."

Komui stared at him. "I don't whats so important about wing beats--"

"Big wings. Dragon wing beats."

Komui quickly did a head count. "Thats impossible, all the dragons are lounging about right here--"

"Unless another one hatched." Lavi popped up behind Lenalee, judging the timing to be safe.

"Allen--?"

"Maybe." All of them looked toward the horizon. Lavi pondered. "If the egg did hatch it would of grown big enough to fly by now, and if Allen started flying in the right direction--"

By now a small speck had appeared on the horizon, rapidly drawing closer.

Soon they could see that it was definitely a dragon, snow white with a pair of budding horns and a red splotch on its right forearm. It's wings moved with a frantic speed and it was quickly losing altitude.

The dragon was hurt.

As it landed clumsily on the balcony, the others hastily moved away to give the full-grown beast room, it huffed and coughed as it regained its breath.

It was alone, there was no one on it's back, but the beast was covered in blood not entirely it's own. It was covered in the oily blood of akuma.

Regaining some composer, but unable to put any weight on it's wounded arm, it looked around at the others of it's kind and asked, "Is this the 'Black Order?'"

"Yes," Ammy replied first, "And just who is asking?"

"Isaac, I am here representing Allen Walker," The dragon huffed a bit, and the others listened intently. "He has been captured, and I am here to seek your help."

Isaac's dragon eyes glowed, rimmed by black that should have been white.

"He has been captured."

**End 1.**

**AN**: Yup. That's the first chapter.

As you all can see, I did some back tracking. I had to, wanted to, and did not want to explain the sercumstances leading to these events in a boring speech-like diolage.

You'll all just have to put up with the explinations for a few chapters (The first five or so), but don't worry. I tried to add some good stuff too.

Yeah, don't worry if you're confused. So's my beta reader. I give her chapters, but I'm not kind enough to tell her where all this madness is going. (Muhahaha!)

Anyway, I'd just like to give a cheer to all of you who decided to review the first fic, DRAGON'S EYE, and for the seventy-so reviews I got. (Does dance of happiness) And, as with the last fic, **the first three reviewers get candy and cookies.**

Well, all of you that reviewed ch 13 of my last story got messages telling you about the release date. I also posted it on my profile page.

The next chapter will come out ... um ... hmm ... (Looks at calender) NEXT Friday? Yeah, and I'll make that the regular update time unless ... (Grabs speekerphone) I GET SO MANY REVIEWS MY GLASSES FALL OFF AND I FAINT IN HAPPINESS!

On an ending note I'd just like to let you all know I am typing this on a balcony with two flimsy bars of unreliablt broadcast. That's why I updated this a day before the plained time. (Looks sadley at date.) It would of been cool to update on 8-1-08.

I know ... I'm horrible, arn't I? Ehehehe ...

REVIEW PLEEEEEESE.

-Knux33


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

2.

Air whizzed passed almost like gripping fingers, and the sea below was nothing more than a smooth expanse of blue. Two dragons dominated the sky; one snow white, and the other so many shades it was better to simply call her a 'orange' color.

Both had small passengers clinging to the leather ropes tied securely around their chests and backs. Isaac carried Lenalee and a smaller green dragon than could be called more of a winged lizard, while Ammy had only one eye-patched recorder on her 'harness'.

"So, you hatched for Allen." Lenalee spoke up above the wind's constant hiss.

"Yes." Isaac replied, flapping his massive sail-like wings for a little more altitude.

"And you were on your way here, but were attacked by several akuma." Lavi called over.

"Correct."

"You were separated in the battle, and he told you to go to Headquarters?" Lenalee asked, Gremlin sitting like a sphinx on top of her head.

"We had discussed this location many times on the way," Isaac looked embarrassed. "But it did take me a while to find it anyway, Allen is not very good with directions."

"Amen to that," Lavi laughed over from his place on Ammy, flying closer.

The small group of Lenalee, Gremlin, Isaac, Lavi, and Ammy had departed from the Order the moment Isaac's wound was patched up to rescue Allen.

The wound had been surprisingly easy to bind up and it had not reopened, leading Lavi to wonder about the dragon's recovery ability. No other dragon had yet to be injured in battle.

"He doesn't just get lost, but he also seems to draw trouble like a magnet." The Bookman apprentice pointed out.

"Yes..." Isaac said, "He also helps those he could of just left as they were."

"Good point," Lavi said, "But that sadly helps draw half the trouble he gets into."

"True."

"So, where did they get him?" Lenalee said, her voice surprisingly calm.

"Greenland." Isaac shivered. "It is surprisingly ... _white_, there."

"How did you two end up in Greenland?" Lavi sounded skeptical.

"Well, Allen said that since England was somewhere relatively Northeast of South America, so we decided to go that way, once I had grown big enough."

"And--?"

"The winds over the Atlantic currents pushed us further North than we had hoped, and we missed the European continent entirely, ending up there. We had decided to set out Southeast when we were attacked. Two level fours."

Lenalee felt a chill go down her spine and Lavi involuntarily swallowed. "That's ... not good."

"Bad?" Gremlin asked from Lenalee's shoulder.

"Very bad."

"A Level four cannot be so bad as you two make it out to be," Ammy asserted, noticing their reactions. "After all, four is only one more than three."

"Well, you wouldn't know Ammy," Lavi said, "Each higher Level akuma surpasses the last by a very large margin."

"Oh?" Ammy asked. "Then how come all of the creatures I've seen have been almost exactly the same."

"Because those were all Level threes." Lavi pondered for a moment. "Very _weak_ level threes."

"And how much harder is a Level four?" Ammy snapped, pulling Lavi from his half-formed thoughts.

"Let me put it this way--" Lavi sounded like he was trying to be patient. "While Allen can kill a Level three without even thinking about it, a Level four would possibly kill _him_ without thinking about it."

"Thats not true Lavi!" Lenalee reprimanded him. "Right before he fought the first one Allen hadn't even been released from the infirmary yet and he had had to fight an army of Level threes beforehand."

"Specifics, specifics--" Lavi grumbled, "--fighting that Level four was still hell."

"Fighting two of them is worse." Isaac rumbled.

"Fine fine!" Ammy exclaimed. " I get it, four is worse than three. Now just where exactly in this 'Green Land' did they take Allen?"

"Along the south coast."

"Southeast or Southwest?" Lavi asked, the only one among them that would know the terrain.

"...South?"

"..." Lenalee was silent. Gremlin giggled.

"..." Lavi was trying to think of how long it would take them to find the exact spot Isaac left Allen when they had the entire southern coat of Greenland to cover. He turned pale just thinking about it. (Take a look on a map and you'll realize just how hard it would be to search Greenland's south coast ... it's like a giant V.)

"Are you telling me we are going to rescue someone, and we don't even know _where were supposed to start_?" Ammy demanded, twisted her head around to stare open-mouthed at Isaac.

"...maybe."

Ammy snorted, Lenalee continued to sit in silence, and Lavi laughed a bit uneasily. "Just like Allen to get a dragon with a sense of direction as bad as his is."

"My sense of direction is fine!" Isaac argued. "I'm just not good with _giving_ directions--"

-Bzzt!-

Lavi quickly fished out his golem from his pocket, answering it. "Hello?"

"Lavi?" Komui's voice rang loud above the roaring wind. Gremlin chirped happily at hearing the familiar voice, but looked a little confused when the speaker was nowhere to be seen.

"It's me Supervisor, whats up?"

"We need you all back at Headquarters soon. You must complete your mission in at least twenty-four hours or turn back." Komui didn't sound like his usual cheerful self. Lavi would even hesitate to guess that the Supervisor sounded depressed.

"Brother?" Both Lenalee and Gremlin asked the question, but neither got an answer as the line went dead.

Lavi gapped. Hearing Komui depressed was one thing, but for him to hang up on a phone call before squeezing every last possible second out of it _and_ hanging up on his sister...

Something serious must of happened.

"You heard the man," Lavi spoke to both of the flying dragons. "Double time it, or we may just have to postpone rescue."

Isaac looked determined. "I will not abandon Allen."

"Neither will I." Lavi wasn't surprised at the conviction in Lenalee's voice; he felt the same way.

"No, were not leaving Allen anywhere." He told them. _Not now, not ever again. _Not as long as it is in our ability to rescue the cursed boy.

He, like everyone else, fully expected to either find Allen smiling and waiting for them, or simply be missing somewhere else.

To find him dead again would be worse than not finding him at all, because if the white haired boy was only missing, there was always the lingering hope he would walk back through the Order's door saying, "I'm home."

And all of them would be there to say "Welcome back."

Wings flapped, and the miles melted away.

**/DRDRDR/**

Komui sighed as he hung up. There were no options. Either they came back with Allen Walker, or they would have to leave without the boy.

Komui sipped at the coffee Lenalee had made before leaving, brows coming together at the strange after-taste.

"Reever?"

"Mm?" The other scientist was currently drowsing in a nearby office chair, waiting for some test result to come back in.

"What do you think this tastes like?" The supervisor offered his personal pink rabbit cup up for inspection. Reever, not one to pass up free coffee, though he normally was a soda man himself, took a swig and sloshed to contents within his mouth before swallowing.

"You're right, it has a more distinct 'spice' to it."

"Though it doesn't _taste_ spicy--" Komui took another thoughtful sip. "It just _feels_ spicy. Like a sort of '_zing_' flavor.""

Johnny Gill chose that moment to walk in, and watched in horror as the two shared more of the 'unique' coffee blend.

"What are you two _doing_?!" Johnny dashed over and snatched the cup from the supervisor's hands, pouring the contents into a nearby trash can.

Komui blinked, and Reever also did so. Both seemed confused at the younger scientists behavior. "Drinking coffee?" Komui hazarded.

"I though Lenalee noticed," Gill looked panicked. "Gremlin had been drooling into your regular mug when Lenalee was making your coffee."

"..." Reever looked sick, and Komui looked like he wished he could vacate the contents of his stomach. "The dragon ... drooled ... _my_ coffee ...?"

"I-I'm afraid so." Johnny looked like he wished he could vanish on the spot. "I-I've got a report to finish--" And on that excuse, he ran from the supervisor's office, contaminated coffee cup still in hand.

Komui had quite forgotten about the message he had gotten from the Vatican moments ago about moving Headquarters within the next three days, now far more concerned with how to catch and skin one particular green dragon.

Reever stared into space, face as green as the dragon that had drooled into Komui's coffee. "I think I'll go see if the results from my test are finished ..." Reever still looked dazed as he got up and also left the room.

Komui knew how he felt, and got up to go wash out his mouth with a mixture of alcohol, sodium benzoate, salicylate, menthol, chlorhexidine gluconate, hexetidine, methyl, and several other ingredients. This solution was more commonly known as 'mouthwash.'

Feeling all the worse because he had actually _liked_ the dragon-drool coffee, Komui ran the last few yards to his bathroom.

_The next time I see that horrible little monster I'm going to use it's skin to make a new hat and put whatever's left on a dissection table--_

Thinking maniacal thoughts, Komui again shirked his massive pile of paperwork sitting on his desk in far of more 'fun' experiments. Like building a new Komurin ...

**/DRDRDR/**

Smudge was sulking. Sunny _hated_ it when Smudge sulked. She had enough depression from Miranda to last through the rest of her life, and here the great black beast was not even _trying_ to eat his supper!

Miranda, Kanda, and Marie had all left for their own dinner and Ammy, Isaac, and Gremlin had all gone looking for Allen.

Sunny, for one, didn't know why everyone just couldn't let the white-haired exorcist come back on his own. If he had told them to wait for him, they should bloody hell wait and be here to get her only companion out of his self imposed slump.

The black dragon was sitting in his corner, sighing dejectedly to himself.

Sunny had had enough.

"Cheer up!"She demanded. "Just come and see this wonderful sunset! All the purples and reds are beautiful!"

"I'm sorry Sunny, I don't feel like enjoying life's beauty right now."

Sunny almost exploded at him for saying sorry for no good reason at all. Miranda did quite enough of that as well.

"Then what do you feel like seeing?" Sunny demanded, a lover of sights. "I'm sure we could go anywhere we wanted if we came back before dawn."

Smudge perked up a bit at that, thank God.

Dragon eyes shining, he asked, "Do you think we could hunt akuma?"

The yellow dragon was confused at this. "Why do you want to do _that_? They are one of the _last _things _I_ would ever want to see."

"I don't want to _see _them Sunny," Smudge said, unfolding his wings. "I want to _free_ them."

"Oh!" Sunny understood that. "They do look happy when they aren't chained down here anymore."

"Yes," The two took off onto the darkening night, "They do."

**/DRDRDR/**

Miranda Lotto was trying not to crawl under the table. Fear and panic made it hard to act normal and swallow her dinner of goulash soup as Kanda stewed on her left side and Krory devoured his own small pile of dinner foods on her right.

It was very ... strange. Especially when--

"Slllluuuuurrrrppppp."

-- ... when Krory sucked his cherry soda. Why had Jerry decided to give Krory the straw? _Why_?

And Kanda was attacking his food with a viscousness usually not seen by the samurai. Maybe it had to do something with the incident around lunch--

"Damn Rabbit."

--... It had something to do with the lunch incident.

How she had gotten pinned between the two Miranda did not know. All she did know, and was trying to communicate to her franticly beating heart, was that Kanda's anger wasn't directed towards her, and Krory wasn't even a real 'vampire' in a sense.

"Ssllluurrrppp."

Miranda wished she didn't have such an overactive imagination. She also wished she wasn't frozen to the bench. Then everything got worse.

Howard Link walked into the cafeteria, looking like something had been chewing at him. Which something probably had been, as Miranda remembered Timcampy's strange fixation for chewing on the inspector.

And, or course, the second he spotted their table he marched over to them. Link sat down across from Kanda and stabbed his fork into his cheese cake as if wishing it were someone's head. Which he probably was.

Kanda glared at him.

"What?" Link demanded.

"Nothing," Kanda's eyes narrowed. "I was just thinking about someone else that loved sweets."

Kanda left, his soba only half finished. Miranda took this time to also leave, choosing Kanda of the lesser of the two evils, and said a polite good-bye. Krory was the only one of the two sitting that answered back.

Krory himself wasn't bothered too much by the inspector's presence. He just had to concentrate wholly on his food and hope Link didn't address him directly.

Which the inspector did.

"What do you know about a 'Mana Walker?'"

Krory stopped inhaling his strawberry-filling pastries, his favorite dessert, and stared for a moment at the inspector.

"Who?" Of course Krory dreaded where this was going. With the last name of Walker--

"Allen Walker's foster-father." Link quickly jotted something down onto a large notepad he had taken out.

"Oh," Krory used the void of silence as an excuse to stuff his mouth with the last of his desert and chewed madly. He wanted to escape as soon as possible. Though the mentioning of the unknown family member did make him a _bit_ curious--

"It seems almost no one knows Allen even _had_ a foster father, let alone the man's name."

"Well," Krory said, standing up, "I'm sure if you asked around about my grandfather, even _less_ people would even know he even existed."

Krory left with one final message. "We exorcists try very hard _not_ to think about the people we have lost, but instead about the people we still _have_. Please keep that in mind as you go about your investigation Mr. Inspector."

As Krory walked away he hoped that little speech would help Allen's case. If not, well, at least the inspector wouldn't bother Krory as much in the future.

**/DRDRDR/**

Miranda meekly followed in Kanda's shadow to the dragon's balcony. She hoped the two dragons had gotten along well in their absence--

But her train of thought was shattered as they came up to the balcony and the said beasts were gone.

Not good. Not good at all.

Sure, the dragons would sometimes fly out for midnight snacks, but they had just devoured a whole dinner meal. They should of still been lazing about on the balcony.

Miranda kept one nervous eye on Kanda, wondering what his reaction would be to the disappearance. It was a lot less violent then she thought it would be.

The Japanese exorcist gave a 'che' of annoyance and simply went to tearing apart dummy's with his newly fixed sword, almost ignoring they beast's absence completely.

Miranda gave a silent sigh of relief and collected the dragon's now empty dinner plates, and stacked them on the nearby wheelbarrow for just that purpose.

As she left, she noticed Kanda was attacking the mock enemy's with a little more violence than necessary and would continue cutting long after the dummy was 'dead.'

Trying to gulp down the ridiculous fear she sometimes had of her friends, Miranda went on with her work, and hoped that everyone would come home soon.

That the whole family would be home soon.

End 2.

**AN**: Sure, this one is a little short, but it leads up to the next chapter.

Hehe, now for fun things the people that got candy plus stuff for reviewing first on the first chapter!

Number one was, Akky-Chan! (Woohoo!) And what does number one get you ask? Well, Akky-Chan gets: Ice-cream, cookies, and candy!

Number two was xquisittexabie! (_Very_ unique name!), and the prize is: cookies and candy!

Number three, SeikaDragon, (Yay for dragons!) gets: cookies!

All of these are non-existent of course. Well, unless you all have good imaginations, in which to create these wonderful things ... mmmm, candy ...

And a huge applause for all of you that DID review!

I (In a hotel room after driving for about six hours with my Mom and sister to get home, and we still weren't there yet) had just realized I had Internet connection.

So, using my sisters laptop (Which hates me by the way) I checked my e-mail.

By God, I almost lost my jaw at gapping at the 12 reviews, 12 alerts, and 2 alerts. Botfanfiction letters all the way down. I jumped up, and after grabbing my tired ten-year-old sister in a crushing hug, proceed to jump and bounce and babble in the small hotel room.

My mom asked what made me so happy.

I babbled, half-English half-something that is no known language, that I had gotten more reviews than I had EVER gotten.

She still didn't really get it, but was happy I was happy.

Reviews are wonderful. Reviews make people want to update quicker to get more. So, here you go.

Thursday update. Yep. It's not very soon, but it's the best I could do. I'm trying to limit it to once a week because I still haven't gotten out of my regular .'Summer laziness' slump.

Well, see you all next Thursday, because I've decided it's a good day to update.

I'll leave you all with an announcement, I've got a poll up and a new avatar thing on my profile: It's the best example of a 'dragon's eye' that I could find. In D.Grayman vol 9 no less.

And last but not least, I'm going to point out the title of this piece: Dragon's _**LIES**_! Looking at the reviews, I think some of you haven't taken it literally enough. The main 'lie' going on is between the conflicting information I am giving you in what exactly 'happened' to little Allen Walker. My poor beta is still puzzling over it all and she's gotten to edit the first five chapters.

Believe me, this fic is supposed to be a little confusing, on there will be lots of lies spread around. You all can guess at the lies, but the truth won't be truly reviled until the final chapter, so sorry if some of you get frustrated with me. And my long Author's Notes.

-knux33


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

3.

Miranda was on her way back to the dragon balcony, having given the dirty dish-ware to the kitchen staff, when she noticed a large crowd of white-coated scientists and a few curious Finders gathering around Lab 2.

Miranda hesitantly asked a familiar passerby, the Finder Toma, what was happening. The man was a little scary, with half his face covered in bandages and his hood always up, but he was nice enough to talk to every once and a while when information was needed.

"They say Reever's gone insane." Toma said, gesturing past the sea of bodies and into Lab 2. She thanked him and braved the sea of bodies, hoping she wasn't about to get squished.

When Miranda finally squeezed her way close enough to see inside she was very confused. Inside, the walls of the lab, from floor almost to ceiling, were covered in numbers.

She quickly spotted Reever writing madly onto the right wall, his speed at writing the seemingly endless equation astonishing.

He was on a small hovering platform at least thirty feet off of the ground, and Miranda hoped he was in no danger of falling, as there were no handrails to speak of on the machine.

"Reever!" Johnny Gill and several other familiar scientists were the only ones that dared to actually enter the room. "What are you doing?"

Reever answered, but his words were garbled and sounded almost like a foreign language.

"What did you say?" Johnny called up, his bend painfully back from looking up at such a vertical angle.

The head scientist seemingly gave up trying to talk to his subordinates and began writing again. Numbers and points appeared behind his white chalk almost as if by magic, no possible mistakes or flaws visible to Miranda.

The German exorcist hesitantly walked into the room, wondering if she could help in some way.

Before she could ask, Reever let out an explosive shout of triumph, go so far as to throw what was left of his chalk into the air, letting it fall to the floor below.

The small machine he stood on quickly descended to the floor and Reever jumped off, a huge grin on his face.

"Grab him!" The ghost 65 called out.

The other members of the science department tried to do so, but Reever as a step ahead of all of them and had already made his way through most of the crowd blocking the exit before the order had even had a chance to echo.

Miranda watched as they all ran after the disappearing Reever, and hoped the man was all right.

Before she left though, she glanced at the wall to see just what the answer to the giant equation looked like.

42?

Thoroughly confused, Miranda followed the mass of people on the Reever manhunt, and hoped they could catch him before he did something seriously damaging.

**/DRDRDR/**

Kanda wasn't angry. No way. He was just destroying the entire stock of training equipment dummys to better his swing strength. Yeah, that was it, swing strength ...

What ever excuse Kanda gave to himself, he knew he was not in a very good mood when someone besides Miranda and the missing dragons showed up on that balcony.

Komui.

With another stupid robot.

If anyone else beside Komui had been there, they would of noticed the extremely annoyed look on Kanda's face. But Komui, being Komui--

"Kanda!" The supervisor said in a high, quick voice. "Quickly! Come see my robot!"

Kanda glared.

Komui laughed. "Don't worry! This one has no flaws whatsoever! Isn't that right my little Komurin DS?"

The small, box-like contraption beeped.

Kanda glared at the machine. Komurin DS retracted its small, angular head slightly, as if sensing the hostility Kanda emanated better that it's creator.

"You must be wondering why I named it Komurin DS yes?"

"_No._"

"It's named that because it is my 'Dragon Skinner!' Whenever one of those beasts try to touch my coffee _or_ my hat--"

Komui added explosive sound effects and cutting motions, ended with a bout of crazy laughter.

Kanda ignored the crazed scientist and went back to swinging his weapon at the practice dummy. As much as he wanted to run the _other_ dummy through, Kanda knew the lunatic was the only one capable of putting his Mugen back together when it fell to pieces.

Oh, the irony of it all. And they say God had a reason for it all ...

"KandaKanda!"

"_Go away_."

"Komurin DS was built within exactly fifteen minutes and forty-eight seconds! A new record! Yeee-"

Exorcist Yuu Kanda was centimeters away from cutting the annoyance in half, useful or no.

"-aaahooo!" Komui, seemingly more hyper than usual, ran a few laps around the balcony, Komurin DS trailing behind like a small, metal puppy.

Kanda almost smiled with relief when the madding sister-complex left him in peace once more. Almost.

Then the samurai got back to hacking his training equipment into firewood.

**/DRDRDR/**

Reever wasn't exactly sure _why_ he was working so much, or why the rest of the world seemed to be going a bit slower than he was, but he knew that he _wanted_ to work.

After figuring out that a dragon's entire body was composed of innocence, and that each and every dragon had grooves in their teeth for venom storage and injection, he decided to solve an equation he had been chipping at for the last five years.

Which he did in a few minutes.

Sweet.

Completing that, he moved passed the crowd that had gathered and went leisurely up to the higher labs to begin packing up the experiments in the boxes that had come in today for the massive move that had to take place.

Reever calculated that it would take him possibly a half-an-hour to pack up the first half of the science department, and to work around everyone else that seemed to be going so _slow_ today.

After the hour or so it would take to pack all the labs up he could go do Komui's office--

Reever stopped and calculated that project for a second. It would probably take over five hours.

Hmmm...

After finishing the labs, he would go out for a late dinner.

That sounded good.

**/DRDRDR/**

Inspector Howard Link was not in a very good mood. The little golden bother had been keeping him from getting a descent nights sleep in over three days.

Howard knew when Headquarters had been properly moved he would have more leeway over the little monster, but until then--

Howard allowed a small smile to grace his face.

--Until then he hoped the little demon would enjoy it's stay inside the closet.

"Inspector Link!" Howard blinked in surprise, he wasn't used to being called out or sought after by anyone. Anyone except the head Inspector Malcom Rouvelier of course.

"Inspector," It was Bookman, surprisingly. The last time Howard had seen him was in the library hidden under a heap of books. "Have you seen my apprentice anywhere?"

"It is to my knowledge that he has gone on a rescue mission to search for the missing Allen Walker."

Howard flinched when the small, but apparently still vigorous, old man snatched his notebook from his hands and leafed through its pages.

"H-hey--!" Link didn't know what the Bookman's exact rank was compared to him, but he knew the old man could do relativity whatever he wanted. And did it.

"I would advise against investigating to closely into Allen Walker Investigator." Bookman warned, tossing the heavy text at Howard who then caught it with a '_ouf!_' "You may dig up something best left buried, for both parties."

"And how would you know that?" Link asked, highly suspicious. But the Bookman was already walking away, and before Link could move after him he had disappeared around a corner.

Regaining the breath he had lost from being smacked in the chest with the large volume, Howard Link wondered just what the old man knew, and how much could be learned from ... 'asking' the right questions.

**/DRDRDR/**

Miranda didn't believe her eyes. Neither did the rest of the people around her. Reever had been found in lab six, cleaning at three times the pace a normal person could.

It was like someone had hit the fast forward button on the remote control and Reever was the show, going around the cluttered room at lightning speed.

Mass amounts of scientific work was packed away and shifted to a corner of the hallway in seconds, and several of the work staff were in tears over how much work was gone in a blink of an eye.

But soon, the spectators began to trickle away as the sight lost it's splendor and they went off to see to their own packing. Miranda was one of the few that stayed, and followed Super-Speed Reever as he went from lab to lab, packing away the items that would of taken hours at normal speed.

After around thirty minutes of packing, Reever began to slow down. At first, the change was hardly noticeable, but then he seemed to wind-down visibly like a clock-work toy before falling over.

"Reever!" Johnny and a few others had also stayed behind, and now went to the fallen head scientist.

Reever looked fine, besides the obvious collapse from exhaustion, and the others were more than capable than dealing with that common everyday occurrence.

"Is he aright?" Miranda asked.

"I'm fine--" Reever took them by surprise by being capable of standing on his own. "--But have any of you seen the Supervisor?"

"Not since you both drank--" Johnny's eyes widened behind his spectacles. "You don't think--?"

"I have a high suspicion that the high I was just on was caused by some sort of chemical in the dragon's saliva, or possibly even it's venom. And because Section Chief Komui also had some of the coffee ..."

Reever was already walking away, ready to see just what Komui might of done on his 'high.'

"Should I analyze the cup?" Johnny asked, truthfully a little scared of what they could find. "You know, to determine just what you two drank?"

"No," Reever said, talking over his shoulder, "Just try to finish packing, we're expected to move in the next few days or so. Fully."

Johnny looked at what still had to be stored for the move and slumped.

"Can I help?" Miranda asked hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't be it the way.

"Of course!" Johnny looked glad for the company, as the everyone else had already left on the 'Komui manhunt.' "Just grab that box over there and--"

**/DRDRDR/**

Lavi couldn't believe his eyes. Ammy hovered uncertainly in the air, gigantic orange wings flapping like sails in the wind. Isaac looked heartbroken, there was only one course of action to take now.

Lenalee looked like she wished she couldn't see what was just a few miles away on the Greenland coastline. Gremlin huddled as close as possible to Lenalee, his young eyes wide.

"Disgusting ..." Ammy whispered. Lavi tore his eyes from the horrible sight in front of him only to find tears coming from the dragon's eyes. The dragon's tears were a tar-like black as they dripped into the sea.

All of them were crying. Ammy looked up at him mournfully, "You were right. Four is _far_ worse than three."

The coast was dotted with them. Dozens of the angelic akuma, if not hundreds, covered the beaches as far as the eye could see, human or dragon.

"I think--" Lavi swallowed. He couldn't say it. His emotions had, for once, overwhelmed his ability of speech.

No words were needed. A rescue was impossible. If Allen was still there--

The dragons turned, reluctantly, and glided back the way they had come. Lavi gritted his teeth as he heard a sob. It didn't matter who had made the sound, all of them were grieving over the friend that was lost to them.

_For now_, Lavi forced himself to think. _For now._

**/DRDRDR/**

Reever stared. The science department stared. And Komui stared back with a slurred, "What?"

The supervisor had collapsed in the middle of his office, surrounded by robots, boiling chemicals, and--

Finished paperwork.

The mountains upon mountains of scattered papers that had covered his floor were now in neat stacks, all bearing signatures and proper seals of completion.

"Oh my God," Reever looked like he was going to fall over again and everyone else looked unsteady on their feet.

It couldn't be real, this was just way to good to be true.

"_What_?" Komui demanded again. "I got bored, I had to do _something_." Reever knew the feeling.

"Thank you God," One of the scientist whispered reverently. Reever secretly wondered if they could get Gremlin to donate some samples of his spit.

Not much, just enough to secretly dose Komui's coffee for the rest of his term as supervisor ... and possibly the entire science department ... what would happen to _exorcists_ at hyper-speed?

Oh, boy. Bring on the dragon drool.

"Supervisor, do you realize the possibilities--"

"Yes yes, I know. Super work speed, yada yada--" Komui waved off Reever's ramble. "But then we would all have to face the crash."

"Crash?"

"Crash." Komui laid himself down again. "I feel like I could sleep for a week..."

Reever, now thinking about it, realized that he too was thoroughly exhausted. If the few hours of work were enough to make up for the duration of however the exhaustion lasted--

Reever placed himself on a nearby couch and instructed the other scientists to get to work packing. He wanted to see just how fast the recovery time was when the subject was resting. He could add other complications later.

Until then--

"Don't bother us unless something urgent comes up," Reever instructed the last of the scientists. He could feel the wave of exhaustion swamping him and he wanted to give out stable orders while he was still coherent.

Komui was on the floor, snoring. And soon Reever was also similarly incapacitated on the couch.

Shaking their heads and wondering what would happen if the supervisor noticed that Reever had stolen his couch, the few left went about their duties. Which, at the moment, was packing away very dangerous objects without blowing up.

Huzzah.

**/DRDRDR/**

Eight hours later, the two woke up to chaos and mayhem as Miranda tried to help move several scientific items.

Unstable scientific items.

Around midnight, Smudge and Sunny came back in, soaking wet. When Kanda asked his dragon why he was that way (And dripping all over him) the dragon replied as casual as could be--

"Well, we couldn't come home all messy now could we? I daresay that would of made you very angry."

Kanda, surprisingly, let the matter drop, and Miranda hugged Sunny with a great gusto, though she began chattering about telling her or another exorcist before leaving first.

Having never seen Miranda so happy to see her before, Sunny quickly made the promise to always tell her where she was going. Of course no one reminded the two that Miranda had just single handedly damaged several labs in one big accidental explosion.

A little after that, Lavi called in, reporting that the rescue of Allen Walker was unsuccessful and that they were on their way home.

And so the move truly began.

As things were boxed up and moved to waiting ships at designated docks, the small rescue group returned. They all looked very morose.

Well, all except Gremlin, who wrapped his still tiny body around Komui's head. "Broooootheeeeer." He purred.

"Lenalee! Get it off, get it off!"

"Gremlin," Lenalee sighed, still very down. "Please get off of Komui's head."

"No."

"Get off of my head!"

"No."

"Komurin DS! Activate!"

A small rectangular robot whirled to life, small knives protruding from all of its sides. "Komurin DS, attack the hostile green object!"

-Beep!-

The small robot pounced off the ground to obey his masters command when--

-_Achoo_!-

The small reptile sneezed, gook landing all over the robot. Most of the sneeze had been spit instead of snot, and the robot sparked as the liquid got into its vulnerable wiring.

"'scuse me." the small dragon said, wiping at his nose.

Then the robot fell to the floor, and Komui looked devastated. "Komurin DS!"

And then the robot began to dissolve. Everyone looked down in horror as the metal twisted and curled as it melted, forming a small brown, bubbling puddle on the stone flooring. Komui stared at the dragon curled up on his head.

"Acid?" The supervisor asked hesitantly.

"Nope," Gremlin said proudly. "Ve-ven-vin-" His little face scrunched with the effort of saying the wanted word. "Ven-i-um."

Then the little creature glowed, seemingly thinking that was a good thing.

"Venom?"

"Ven-i-um!"

Komui looked angry. "And what exactly did you put into my coffee!?"

"_Good_ ven-i-um!"

Lavi looked warily down at the small hissing puddle that had once been a solid metal robot, and wondered if that had been the 'bad' venom.

Komui looked like he wanted to skin the little lizard.

"Get. _Off_."

"Me. _On_."

Lavi sighed, and Ammy chuckled a little beside him. The comic act was doing wonders for all of their moods. Well, Isaac only cracked a small reptilian smile and Lenalee's eyes still held a shadow of the tears she had shed, but it was still a great improvement.

So, they packed their things. They went through the motions, minds truly on the empty room just down the hall of the exorcist's wing.

But then came the realization, the Order was moving. The location wasn't known by anyone except maybe the Vatican and Grand Generals.

Allen was truly going to be left behind.

Somewhere, during the last of the moving and packing, they all came to truly realize they weren't just leaving the place behind, but a piece of their family.

A large piece of the family.

Miranda was seen with tears streaming down her face as she washed Sunny off from head to tail, though the dragon was still clean from the earlier dunking. The woman just sobbed at anyone that tried to comfort her, and scrubbed at Sunny's scales harder.

Kanda didn't stop destroying the training equipment until the pieces were to small for him to possibly hit, even with his blindfold off. He grew very cold. Well, colder than usual. You would of have to know him very well to even _notice_ the change from snow to ice.

Krory was found in his bed at one point during the mass pack. He had been very quiet about it, his sheets cocooning him like a caterpillar, and Lavi softly closed the door when he found the pale man sobbing.

Some had to let it out alone. To just cry to themselves for a while. Others needed a shoulder.

Lenalee was sighted clinging to her brother a few hours before the first few groups left. Gremlin curled around both of them, a small warm comfort to both. Komui was said to have tears in his eyes too.

Johnny was crying, and almost seemed unable to walk under the racking sobs, but the young scientist kept to his work, and did his share of packing through it. Maybe he was getting used to losing friends.

Reever almost wasn't seen at all. But Lavi spotted the man staring at some numbers chalked onto the wall of lab two. Before he took some pictures and hosed it all down. The Bookman apprentice decided this was Reever's way of crying, with no visible tears.

Bookman harrumphed at them all as he finished packing away his own belongings. "Damn brat isn't even dead and everyone's still as dreary as if the world had already ended."

Lavi secretly wondered if that flare of anger was the Bookman's wound way of caring and acknowledging the fact.

Lavi himself did nothing. Nope. As the apprentice Bookman studied all his friends in their own stages of remorse he did nothing. When he checked to make sure everyone else was coping well he didn't do squat.

He was to be Bookman after all. The old Panda wasn't getting any younger. When the rain kept getting into his eye he just rubbed it away and went on with his life. That was right, stupid rain.

And then the day came. They day the last of them were to leave. The dragons were sent to a nearby shipping dock where they would wait for their human counterparts to show up.

After the dragons took off Lenalee, Miranda, Krory, and Reever were the first to go to the waiting sea vessel. Leaving Lavi, Howard, Kanda, Komui, and the still small Gremlin to wait for the final boarding vessel.

And so they waited in the depressing darkness by the river leading out of Headquarters. And waited.

Gremlin chirped nonsense into the oppressing silence, and Komui chirped at him back to be quiet. Kanda 'ched' and fingered at his Mugen.

Lavi shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Inspector Howard glared at the ground.

And then the boat came. Komui was on in a flash, Kanda slipping in behind. Lavi gestured in a mocking bow for Link to go first. The Inspector had other ideas.

"I'm not going."

Lavi blinked from his place beside the boat. "What?"

"I'm not going." The inspector seemed annoyed at having to repeat himself. Lavi didn't want to object, he would have _loved_ for the inspector to stay behind. But--

"What are you going to do?" The red-head asked. "It's not like there are going to be people you can snoop on."

"I'm going to be waiting for my charge's return. Until then I will entertain myself with other pastimes."

"Oh," Lavi grinned, "Can't bare to let the higher-ups see your horrible failure can ya?" A large and heavy object slammed into the side of Lavi's face, successfully knocking him into the boat.

"No." Link smirked down at him, holding a large copy of the Holy Bible. "I'm just doing it for some time to do some light reading. And take this--" A disgruntled Timcampy was now thrown at Lavi's face. "--with you!"

Lavi got up from his humiliating position, and watched as the inspector moved farther and farther away, until he was no longer in sight.

And so, they left the Order's Headquarters and moved on.

Staying with the current and gliding on the water, the boat sailed on through the dark cavern, the torches had long since burn out. They weren't going to be coming back.

End 3.

AN: Well, sorry for the sadness going on. But don't worry, the next chapter (as my beta reader said, but I doubt this) is the best one yet.

Again, that's only what my beta reader said, and she wouldn't even give any criticism of it ... that made me slightly frustrated, 'cause I like to know what I'm doing wrong, so later I can do it RIGHT.

Hmm, random information: After watching the first two episodes of D.Gray-Man my little sister declared that she wants to be Allen's 'Girl-Friend.' Hehe, she'll half to wait in line ... and she's ten. Woohoo for a new D.Gray fan!

Well, anyway, see you all 8-21-08, and--

PLEEEEEASE **remember** TO REVIEW!

You're words help me write what I need to in this horrible, unending, stomach-grinding, week before school starts up again for me! Arg ... school ... not fun subject, but it does give me something to do besides stare at the ceiling ... and it does help inspire me ...

-knux33

Extra Note: Both the previous chapters have gotten **more than ten reviews each!!** If this keeps up, I may have to make myself write even faster to get you guys the chapters faster ... but then again, I'll probably pick up the speed after school starts, god knows why ...


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

4.

They weren't going to reach the new Headquarters in one day. That much was certain. They would have to make several rest stops at ports along the way.

And it wasn't just because the dragon's couldn't hunt much for themselves so close to cities without causing wide-spread panic, but they were also the last ship on a long chain that was going to the new Headquarters.

They had to wait for the ship before them to leave the next port before moving forward. Needless to say, staying all day on a ship was very boring, especially when the said ship was going nowhere at all, and the passengers constantly made expeditions into the nearby port towns for a change in scenery.

Lavi and Krory were doing just that by exploring the port shops. They had been wandering around, sampling the local cuisine, when they noticed a familiar face.

"General Cross?" Krory asked, having only seen the man once before.

Lavi almost shushed the other exorcist, but it was too late, the mane of red hair turned, revealing a sharp face half-masked. Then the General grinned, and Lavi knew they were in for trouble.

"General." Lavi greeted when he walked, almost swaggered really, to the two. "Aren't you supposed to be at a meeting or something right now?"

"Ah, that?" Cross hooked his arms around both of them, blocking escape. "We finished a few days ago, and I've got time off due to good behavior. So, where is that idiot apprentice of mine, I've got some work for him too do--"

Lavi glared from his headlock and Krory just looked gloomier.

"Hm," Cross observed, steering the two towards a bar, "As it seems my apprentice is nowhere to be seen, I'll just have to work you two instead. How good are you two at poker?"

Krory admitted he had played once, but Lavi saved him by pointing out that he had been stripped to his underwear. "And I'm horrible at it, I've got no face."

"Hm," Cross pondered some more, continuing to direct then to the nearby tavern 'Blue Horse.' "Oh, well. Lets just have a nice chat then..."

Cross guided them through the smoke-filled room, most of the other costumers playing pool at the tables taking up most of the bar space besides the actual bar. They were placed in stool chairs and told to order what they liked.

Lavi asked the balding bartender, "Do you have anything reasonably, _weak_?" Krory was asking for some tomato juice.

Cross grimaced at both of their requests, while the bartender just laughed at them and rubbed at his handle-bar mustache, the only hair on his face and most of his head.

Cross stepped in, saying he wanted a Bloody Mary for the vampire (Krory), a Black Russian for Dirty Eye-patch (Lavi), and a beer for himself.

The man turned and poured out the drinks. Lavi stared at Cross for out of the corner of his eye. "So, what are we supposed to be 'helping' you with Cross?"

"I told you," Cross leered at him. "We're just here for a nice little chat."

The drinks were put in front of them, and Lavi looked down doubtfully at the concoction he had been given. It looked and smelled like a strong mix of vodka and liqueur.

Krory sipped at his drink and choked the concoction back into the cup, disliking the taste. They both pushed their drinks away, suspicious.

"What?" Cross downed his bottle in one gulp. "Don't you two ever enjoy some good old alcohol every once and a while?"

"Bookman don't drink." Lavi grumbled, his green eye moving about the rest of the bar. Seeing no overly beautiful women nearby or single, he glowered at Cross. "Without good reason anyway."

"I'd rather have some water myself." Krory mentioned, looking like he would rather just get back to the ship before nightfall.

Cross had other ideas.

"Well you, my dirty friend, are just an apprentice. And you, good sir, should enjoy your life more. So" The General pulled out a flask from his coat, smiling a bit too widely.

Lavi and Krory shrunk away, remembering several tales Allen had told them about his master that involved cornering other pedestrians into paying his dept.

They had been funny when told, but watching the General smirk like that right in front of them so threateningly...

The two decided to leave but, unluckily for Lavi, a few teenage women chose that moment to wander into the bar.

Looking over, Lavi's mouth began to involuntarily gape. He started to say his infamous 'strike' and--

Cross stuffed the open end of his flask down the apprentice Bookman's throat. Between choking and trying to breath, some of the liquid made it's way in and burned it's way down the exorcist's throat.

Sputtering and gasping, Lavi's face turned red and after Cross removed the bottle, and the teen tried to cough the stuff back up but it was too late.

The concoction was in.

Krory patted Lavi's back as he coughed, looking fearfully at Cross.

"Well, that should give you two enough fun for tonight."

"What did you do?!" Krory demanded, Lavi slowly regaining his breath.

"I spiced things up for you Dreary! Now, bartender! More Beer!" Cross gulped at his alcohol as Krory worriedly held onto a groaning Lavi.

A little after failing to answer Krory's attempts at questioning, he hiccuped. Then chuckled.

Krory was very scared when he unstably sat up, cheeks flushed.

"Lavi?"

"Kro-chan!" Much to the older man's horror, the Bookman grabbed him around the waist and started cuddling. "Kro-chan ..."

"Eep!" Poor Krory jumped out of his seat, causing the intoxicated Lavi to tumble to the floor.

Cross laughed at them, sipping at his drink. "Yep, you two go have some fun while I enjoy my beer."

"_What_?" Krory was at a loss of what to do, go get some help before anything got any worse? But he couldn't leave Lavi here alone in this state, the boy was already eying the women in the bar. Taken or untaken.

Most were taken.

Lavi got up and started to stumble over to one of the girls at a nearby pool table, but Krory grabbed him and forced him back into his chair. "Snap out of it Lavi!"

"Oh, so now you want me," Lavi grabbed Krory in a bear hug, almost sending both of them to the floor. Lavi continued his cuddling, almost sending Krory into a bout of screaming.

But the older male was able to shove the apprentice Bookman back into his seat once more. "Aww, Kro-chan ..."

Cross was laughing loudly, clearly entertained by the predicament.

"What did you give him?" Poor Krory squeaked.

Cross fiddled with the flask, putting it back into his coat. "Oh, just a gift from an old friend." Cross grinned. "He decided to help me out with my 'unwilling bed partners' problem."

Krory didn't know what scared him more, Lavi continually trying to grab him, or Cross's growing amount of empty bottles and glasses on the table.

"What does it do?" Though he already had an idea.

"_Everything_." Cross said with such a ravenousness that Krory decided fleeing was the better option and Lavi would be ok a few moments alone while he got some real professional help.

The exorcist ran out of the tavern, going as fast as his legs would carry him to the dock and the boat where help would be waiting.

"Aw," Lavi dizzily frowned, but smiled at some of the women that had come in earlier. They walked over to the bar to get some drinks, and Lavi happily slurred at them, "Wan' sum company?"

They giggled at him and approached, much to Cross's pleasure--

**/DRDRDR/**

The dragons didn't mind being stuck on the boat too much. There was plenty of food and deckhands walking about above deck for them to be significantly entertained by their surroundings. But even they had their limits--

"Look at that!" Sunny exclaimed, poking her head out to look more closely at a passing vessel.

"Get down!" Ammy demanded. "We are not to be seen!"

"Sorry ..." Sunny mumbled, white eyes peering just over the hole in the deck of the ship that was open just for their viewing pleasure. Normally, the hole was used to get bigger items and luggage below deck, but since there were dragons they left it open for them to get some fresh air and a better view.

"Agh," Ammy grumbled in disgust, "I hate being stuck in the same quarters as my _food_." It was true that the dragons were very close to where the livestock, water, luggage, and other consumable items were stored.

"Its not like they can put us anywhere else," Smudge pointed out. "We are just much too large for any other placing to be possible."

"Yeah, all of us except Gremlin." Ammy muttered. "I don't see why that little bug hasn't grown _at all_ yet."

"It may be something unique to him." Isaac pointed out from where he had been curled up quietly, licking at the scabbed flesh of his right arm. It was healing nicely and no longer bothered him. "Like how only you can breath fire."

"Hmph," Ammy didn't seemed satisfied by the white dragon's sketchy answer.

"Are you all right down there?" Lenalee called down.

"Fine." The dragon's chorused. They had gotten used to someone checking on them once every few hours.

"Where ever has my Servant been?" Ammy asked. "He was supposed to polish my claws tonight before sundown."

"It's still setting," Lenalee informed her, looking over the bow of the ship out to the city's horizon. "He and Krory will probably be back soon. They just went out to do some sightseeing."

"He'd better be back soon." Ammy rumbled. "Or he may have to go to bed well-done."

Sunny snickered.

"And whatever do you find so funny sun-spot?" The orange beast asked, a bit miffed over the lack of pampering.

"It is a very funny picture to my mind," The yellow reptile replied. "And I love pictures."

"_Krory_?" The shout went up from above. Lenalee turned and disappeared from sight. Smudge stuck his head out to see what the commotion was.

Ammy and Sunny growled at him to move, as the open gate on the ship's planking was only big enough from one of them to stick their heads up one at a time without scraping their scales on the sides.

"Please be quiet," he asked them, trying to see what was happening past the crowd of sailors.

He saw Krory, the pale man was making quite a ruckus, but Mr. Lavi was nowhere to be seen. Kanda looked very annoyed, giving his familiar 'che' and walking down the plank of the boat.

Lenalee followed behind, a worried Krory hastily running to lead the way.

"Where are you going?" Smudge called.

"Rabbit hunting." Was Kanda's reply, before he disappeared into the crowd of people rushing from boat to dock or dock to boat.

**/DRDRDR/**

Lenalee blushed when they finally made it to the 'Blue Horse.' She had thought Krory might of exaggerated about Lavi's 'condition,' but looking in at the redhead cuddling up close to two scantly dressed women, Lenalee was beginning to think the older man had even toned it down a bit.

"Lavi?" She asked, Kanda's face was seemingly stuck in a look of disgust, and the samurai was making no move to enter the establishment.

"Lenalee-chan!" Lavi exclaimed upon seeing them. "Yuu-chan!" The red-head rose, obviously drunk by his lack in coordination, and stumbled over to them.

The two women that he had been smothering before looked more curious than offended by the teen's behavior, going so far as to gossip to themselves.

Lenalee backed away, leaving Kanda as the closest living thing to the impaired Lavi. And when the Bookman apprentice reached the glaring Kanda, he did something he would _have_ to be out of his right mind to do.

Lavi kissed him full and hard on the lips.

(AN: Fans, eat your hearts out, 'cause this is all your gonna get in this 'friend' fic. Unless of course, they get their hands on more alcohol ... Insert evil laughter here)

The girls that had been cuddled by the red-head squealed and brought out cameras, taking photos. Lenalee was dumbstruck, mouth agape. Krory looked like he was about to fall over.

And then, as Lavi removed his mouth with a smirk, Kanda's eyes bulged.

The samurai looked beyond furious. The apprentice Bookman looked waaaaay over the rainbow, continuing to smile like a madman.

Mugen was drawn.

"_Die._" Lenalee hastily grabbed Lavi's scarf and yanked him out of the swinging blade's way.

"Kanda!" The girl scolded, trying to keep Lavi from grabbing her. "It's not his fault!"

"Sure as _hell_ it's not," Kanda growled, raising the weapon again.

"Where's General Cross?" Krory asked, looking at the mound of beer glasses the covered the bar table. The older redhead was no where to be seen, the bartender looked angrily over the mass of cups at them.

Lenalee and Kanda were too occupied at the moment to notice the question, or the bar owner's reply.

"The fancy guy? He left a few minutes ago, saying that a few friends of his would show up to pay the bill. You guys those friends he mentioned?"

That stopped Kanda's sword, and they all turned to stare at the large amount of empty beer bottles left on the table.

Lavi laughed into the silence, finally successful in his attempts of getting his arms around Lenalee's shoulders, smothering her neck in small kisses.

He was like some small, overly affectionate puppy, kissing and snuggling in a cute un-lustful way that made the other girls in the bar giggle to one another, but also made their boyfriends grimace, hoping their girlfriends wouldn't demand such public displays of affection.

Lenalee quickly shoved the redhead onto a surprised Krory and asked the bartender how much Cross's bill amounted to.

"Hmm," The man assessed the amount of alcohol Cross had consumed. "Around two-hundred and sixty pounds."

Krory's brow furrowed from above the Lavi he had wrestled to the floor. "Pounds?"

"That's the currency they use here Krory," Lenalee said, trying to calculate if they had that amount. Kanda looked annoyed, to say the least.

"And you'll not be leaving here until that dept is payed." The man growled, scrubbing a few glasses clean.

The exorcists stared. "But our money is on the boat--" Lenalee began.

"And you'll all be staying here, washing dishes until the money is payed one way or another." He said quite frankly, rubbing at his mustache.

Kanda looked ready to chop the whole establishment to pieces, just to vent his frustration, but Lenalee put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head, apparently guessing at his thoughts. "It wouldn't be worth it."

Kanda gave her a glare that plainly said 'You're lucky I haven't decided to cut _you_ in half by now.'

Lenalee also added, "Besides, my brother will probably come soon to see what's keeping us so long."

**/DRDRDR/**

"Give me back my hat!" The named mad scientist yelled, then sneezed.

"Give back hat!" Gremlin cheeped back from the topsail mast, also adding an imitation sneeze. The green dragon had Komui's hat planted on his head, and was parroting anything Komui said right back at him.

"Do you think we should try to help?" Smudge asked the other dragons, a bit of a cow's intestine hanging from his jaws.

"No, and make sure your mouth is clear before speaking." Ammy childed him, taking a large bite out of her own pile of tuna. She had grown a taste for raw fish as the voyage progressed.

"Sorry," Smudge said, licking his chops clear of any other bloody appendages but shivered as the slimier organs went down. "How can you stand all of that sliding down your throat?" He asked, gesturing with a claw to her slippery meal.

"I _love_ the way they just slide down," She said, picking some of the scales from her teeth.

"I hope Kanda comes back soon." Smudge added, seemingly the only one to drive for conversation.

"Stop staring at your food and swallow it!" Sunny demanded, though she was very guilty of doing so herself.

"Sorry," Smudge said yet again, taking a few more chunks out of his cattle.

Issac ate very quietly, but listened politely to the conversation and Komui's yelling from above. "When exactly does the ship leave?" He asked after they had all but finished their dinner.

"Tomorrow morning." Sunny said, "Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure we are in no danger of leaving without them." The pale creature said softly.

Smudge blinked, and said just as softly, "Do not worry about Allen. He is a very strong person."

"I know." Isaac said. "But he is also very easy to hurt. He should not be alone. Ever."

Sunny turned to face them and joined the conversation. "But he did not seem to worry about being alone in the desert when he jumped back into the hole."

"He was not alone for long." The white dragon said. "He had _me_."

The sentimental conversation was broken when they heard a small splash outside.

"My _hat_!!" Komui cried.

"Oops."

**/DRDRDR/**

Both Krory and Lenalee washed glasses, trying hard to do a good job, while Kanda, refusing to do such demeaning work, sat on Lavi to make sure he didn't get into anymore trouble.

Besides Lavi's childish cries of 'Yuu-chan!' the operation went pretty well. The two girls Lavi had been cuddling up to earlier even offered to pay most of the bill, saying that the picture they had taken of Lavi and Kanda was probably worth quite a bit more than what they had on them.

Kanda frowned deeply at the conversation, but made no move to cut them up, much to Lenalee's obvious relief.

"Thank-you both very much." She said gratefully.

"Don't mention it!" The older of the two, a beautiful blond woman, reassured her. And winked, "Are job _is_ to help exorcist whenever we can, on or off duty."

Krory gaped at them. "Are you two--"

"Finders. Yep!" The smaller of the two, a carrot top, chirped. "We're on a break right now, but we were looking into a few innocence sightings in the area." She frowned. "But a few weeks ago, all activity stopped suddenly, and our leads have run dry."

"Have there been any sightings of large eggs?" Lenalee asked. The two shook a negative in unison.

"We haven't even gotten _any_ hints of the new innocence that has appeared." The blond sighed. "It's like the stuff just up and vanished."

The exorcists, except for Lavi, shared a look. This was not good news.

Leaving behind close to a hundred and a half pounds for the very grateful exorcists, the two waved good-bye.

"Thank-you for being so super-sexy for the photo shot!" The carrot-top said as they disappeared out the door, freckles dotting her face as she grinned once last farewell.

Kanda was almost on his feet and out the door after them before he remember he had a mission and sat down on the protesting Bookman again. He gritted his teeth and ignored the red-head's protests at not being able to give proper 'cuddles.'

"If whatever he has in his system doesn't ware-off with in the next few seconds so help me--"

"Yuu-chan" Lavi whined. "I can't love you right if you're the one on top--"

There was a large_ thunk_, and the whining stopped. Lenalee looked to see Lavi out cold, and Kanda was fingering the hilt of his sword innocently.

Neither Krory or Lenalee had the time or energy to reprimand him for the unneeded use of force. But it was a bit nicer to work in relative quiet...

**/DRDRDR/**

Komui was having a fit. His hat had been lost to the sea and he had just noticed that his beloved Lenalee had not come back to the ship yet.

"Oooooh," He groaned over the side of the ship, still hoping to catch a glimpse of his hat, "Why hasn't Lenalee come back yet?"

The little green monster then decided to perch on top of his head where his hat had once rested. "Lenalee home yet?" It asked, sounding bored and a little sad.

"Noooooo," Komui continued to moan, causing a nearby sailor to ask if he was sea-sick. "No!!" He yelled at the poor man, who quickly found some work to do on the _other_ side of the ship.

"Me find Sister and all other for Brother?" Gremlin asked, stretching his wings.

"Yes!" The scientist said, glad to find a useful job for the pest. "Go find my sister, Yuu Kanda, Bookman apprentice Lavi, and Arystar Krory!"

The dragon twisted it's head sideways at so much information. "Find Sister, Yuu, Book-mam, KrowKrow. Tell come back?"

"Close enough! Gogogo!" Komui quickly shooed the beast, and it took off happily into the air.

It was only five seconds after that that Komui realized if the dragon was seem by normal people, or if the dragon attempted to find the exorcists by _talking_ to normal people, or if the thing got lost, or if some scientist crazier than himself caught it, or if someone got a good photo of it--

"Come Baaaack!" He yelled, but it was already to late, Gremlin was gone.

**/DRDRDR/**

It was around midnight when the bar owner finally let them go, apologizing for keeping them, but that had been a very _large_ sum the General had drunk in beer, and if he hadn't gotten the money and labor to compensate he and his business could have easily gone under.

Lenalee spoke for the group when she said it was alright, though that was not how the group felt.

Krory was carrying the still unconscious Lavi over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, as the Bookman apprentice had slipped into a drunken stupor after Kanda used his sword hilt on his head.

"I don't think you should have hit him so hard," Krory said, eying the large bump on the side of the red head.

"Che, any less and he would of just laughed at it."

"I'm sad to say it, but I think Kanda's right." Lenalee said. "Lavi _does_ have a very thick skull..."

Kanda and Krory stared at her. "What?" she asked. "I've been scrubbing alcohol out of cups for the last few hours, and choking on second-hand smoke; I'm not in a very cheerful state of mind right now."

The two mumbled agreement. "But wasn't your brother at least supposed to come looking for you?" Krory asked.

"You're right. " Lenalee said worriedly. "I hope he's alright."

"Not another complex..." Kanda muttered to himself.

"I am _not_ being a complex Kanda Yuu!" The girl was _definitely_ not in a good mood.

Krory tried to ignore the two as they began to bicker, but before it got really bad a small green shape flew above them, chattering happily.

"Here, here! All here here!" Luckily, because it was so late, the four exorcists were the only living beings on the road besides a few small sea-rats and the cats that ate them.

"Gremlin!" Lenalee called up, as the dragon did not land, "What's the matter?"

"Brother madmadmad!" The dragon sing-songed. "No more hathathat!"

They looked confusedly to one another.

"Come fastfastfast!" The dragon continued. "Before Brother have to come find Sister, Yuu, Book-mam, and KrowKrow!" And then flapped away in the direction of the docks.

They stood for a moment, slowly computing what the green Gremlin had just said. And then--

Kanda was off and running, looking like he was going to skin the dragon, yelling at the disappearing lime-colored dot something about not calling him by his first name.

Lenalee chuckled at the direct 'sister' message, the small sound turning to laughter as she realized the thing had called Lavi 'Book-mam' and Krory 'KrowKrow.'

The pale parasitic user didn't mind the mix-up, though he wondered just how some words became so jumbled in a young creature's mind.

So the three set out behind Kanda at a more leisurely pace, enjoying the view of the sea as they passed the larger buildings and the boats came into sight.

**/DRDRDR/**

Despite Komui's misgivings, the dragon came back with the four exorcists in tow, looking very pleased with it's little self. But when he landed on top of Komui's head, where his hat used to be, any gratitude he may have felt for the small collection of green scaly hide vanished, and he was back to a 'you lost my _hat_!' state of mind.

Kanda wasn't very happy with it either. "_Don't_ call me Yuu." Were the samurai's first words as he came back onto the ship, glaring at the small Gremlin.

"You no Yuu?" Gremlin asked in his sweet little chirp, a look of confusion crossing his small reptilian face.

"Address me only as _Kanda_." The exorcist was then walking away, the words he had wanted to say said. Apparently, he was in a good enough mood to give warning before harm.

"You Kanda." The dragon sang. "You Kanda, you Kanda--"

Komui was glad the tall raven-haired teen with the sharp pointy sword was out of earshot when Gremlin decided to sing that.

And then--

"LENALEE!" He exclaimed joyfully, waking every sailor and finder on the ship. Gremlin squawked as his perch ran out from under him and hug-tackled his sister, successfully making the creature fall to the deck floor.

The dragon was agitated at the turn of events, doing such a good job and being ignored, and flew away sulkily to sleep with the larger dragons.

No one noticed as the small creature slipped below deck and cuddled up on top of a snoring white beast several times larger that itself, and finally went to sleep. He had been with the scientist the whole time he had morned the loss of his hat, even though he had gotten hungry and tired and bored.

Back above deck, Lenalee was trying to dislodge her over affectionate brother, or at least communicate to him what had happened.

Eventually Komui calmed down enough to hear the entire story, looking horrified at the fact that his little Lenalee had been forced to scrub, let alone _touch_, beer glasses.

"LENALEEEE!" He cried, even louder.

He didn't seem to care that Krory was carrying Lavi to his room to sleep off whatever Cross had drugged him with, and to get some rest in his own room. Lenalee gave an appreciative glance over her brother's shoulder and Krory smiled back, stepping into the inner rooms the exorcists shared on the ship.

After wailing for the appropriate amount of time, Komui thought the whole story over. "Cross getting time off for good behavior?" He scoffed. "Ran off before they could get him to do anything else is more like it. And he got someone else to pay his drinking debts again--" The scientist grew angry, "And it was _my_ Lenalee!"

Thinking of all the possible things he could do to a General without being caught, he laughed manically as he made his way to his room, his sister sighing behind him.

Everyone made it to bed quickly after that, and the passengers quickly fell asleep, even as the sailors began preparations for leaving the port.

As the sun began to rise, the ship was off and away, swaying to the sea waves and traveling at a decent speed down the coast.

Closer to the place they would eventually call home.

End 4.

**AN**: Over-affectionate!Lavi is an inspiration from my sister. Because she acts craaaaazy ... and she is also ... overly affectionate at times ... to, much, hugging ... get her _off _... she won't de-attach herself from my legs ... she says she loves me over and over ... save meeeeee ...

Hehe, this chapter was so much fun to write, I mean, you all want to know what inspired this ridiculous turn of events? Well, one morning I thought: **"What if Krory, Lavi, and Cross walked into a bar ..."** and ended-up convulsing in laughter just THINKING about all the possibilities. This was just one of them. (Feel free to write any fic inspired by people going into bars, there always fun and random)

All of you missing Allen, you will see him, (and continue where Dragon's Eye left off, finally) in chapter six. As you all see, there is still one chapter between you all and Allen. Please don't kill me until I'm done with this fic ... It's really fun to write ...

I'm sorry if these chapters are coming more slowly than they did last time, but there's less pressure on me, the author, to write fast-paised if I give them to you all regularly once a week. Expect a chapter at least each and every Thursday until either my story is over, my fingers fall off, or I get ... (Gulp) writers block ...

The exact update dates are now being posted on my profile page, at the bottom.

See you all in a week! Unless ... of course ... the hurricane/tropical storm blows my computer away ... I live near Jacksonville, so if you all want to see just how close my house is to annihilation ... watch the weather ... yeah ... (grabs pencil and notebook) my writing will not be stopped! Even if the first day of school is canceled! Muhahaha ... my first school day is tomorrow ...

What will win ... the public school system or mother nature?

-knux33


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

5.

Gremlin awoke not to food and warmth, but to darkness and damp as the ship rocked violently, sending him sprawling off of the large white dragon, Isaac.

The small green beast whined as he shook himself off, trying to dry his now wet scales. Looking up, he saw that small droplets of rain were falling though the hole above the dragon's heads, and the sky was rumbling with thunder like a hungry animal.

He whined again, shivering. None of the others had woken up yet, the rocking and cold not bothering them as much as the smaller Gremlin. He shuffled carefully back over to Isaac's side; the ship was swaying at unequal angles and he had to dig his claws into the wood to stay balanced.

Reaching the white dragon's side, he tried to climb back up, but only succeeded in tumbling over to the dragon's other side once he had reached the top.

Huffing in defeat, the small winged reptile began shuffling passed Isaac's head to get more take-off room to go above deck, but then he squealed as lightning flashed and revealed the white dragon's wide open eye.

Regaining his breath and trying to slow his rapidly beating heart, Gremlin chattered like a chipmunk at the larger dragon, childing Isaac for scaring him so much.

The larger dragon was silent, and continued to stare.

"Staring rude." Gremlin informed him.

No change. Isaac didn't even blink.

Young curiosity flaring now, Gremlin crawled over to the dragon's other side and saw that the other eye was closed. Under the drumming rain, thunder, and calls of the sailors, Gremlin realized that he could still here the dragon's slow snoring along with the other three's bellowing breath.

Isaac was still sleeping. But Isaac was staring ...

The little green dragon snorted, and shook itself like a wet dog would. So he slept with one eye open. Gremlin was tiny, Ammy was fiery, Sunny looked for sights to see, Smudge ...

Gremlin cocked his head and thought. Smudge was the first born. That had to count for _something_ at least. The point is Gremlin knew they all had quirks, and this was by far the least weird.

Satisfied with the diagnostic, Gremlin shook out his wings to get the blood flowing more smoothly after a night of being folded up and took flight up and to the deck above, ignoring Isaac's open left eye.

**/DRDRDR/**

Lavi groaned. His head was splitting in two and the mattress beneath him felt like it was being rocked around like a hockey puck on ice.

Trying to suppress his own moaning, Lavi gingerly brought his hand up to his sensitive skull, only to find a large and painful bump at his left temple.

_How did _that _get there?_

Lavi went through his most recent memory's, only to find them hazy and blurred.

_What?_

Going farther back, he remembered Cross and being led to the bar. He and Krory had just decided to leave when--

_Aw shoot. Panda's gonna kill me for this ..._

The bed beneath him bucked again and Lavi tried to keep the contents of his stomach down his throat as a passing wave of nausea swamped him. The horrible lingering taste in his mouth from Cross's concoction didn't help him at all as he tried desperately not to heave what was left of his last meal.

After letting his stomach settle, Lavi threw off the covers and tried sitting up only to find that he could do that reasonably well, even though the walls tilted alarmingly in slanted directions.

Closing his eye didn't help, as that just emphasized on the rocking motion. Gathering himself and finally looking at his surroundings, the Bookman apprentice found he was in his small room on the boat he had been in for the past week or so.

Relived that his disorientation wasn't just from the head wound, but also from the constant motion of waves on the ship, Lavi tried standing in the cramped space. But the ship was rocking just as violently as his head was spinning, sending him straight back into his small cot.

The falling motion was not very good for his splitting headache, and Lavi found that sitting was a very ok thing to do. He groaned again, hopping that his head would stop pounding soon, it was almost like the rain and his ringing head were trying to see who could drown each other out first.

Rain?

Assessing the variables, he came to the simple conclusion that the ship was now farther out to sea and was in a gale of some sort, hence the worse than usual tilting. Lavi hoped it wouldn't last long as he laid down, nursing his smarting head. He rubbed it carefully for a few minutes, trying to get the pain to lessen.

The thunder rumbled, the ship shook under the force of the wind's howl, Lavi tried to get up and found he could without falling back onto the bed.

Using the wall as a balance beam, he made his way to the door, and found that Krory was rushing by just as he opened it.

"Krory?" The pale man stopped and turned back, helping to steady Lavi with an assisting hand.

"Are you ... yourself?" Arystar asked hesitantly, Lavi was stuck how silly the man's fear seemed to be.

"Well yeah Kro-chan! Who else would I be?" Lavi tried to ignore the irony of his own statement and smiled at the relived looking Krory.

"Good, you were not yourself for a little while--"

"I wasn't?" The redhead tried not to show his fear at that comment. Who had he been, persona 48? 37? Wait, was the man _blushing_?

"Ah ... well, um--" Krory looked uncomfortable. "Whatever Cross gave you made you very ... affectionate ... for a time."

"Affectionate?"

Krory looked_ very_ uncomfortable now. "Well, you were ... cuddling very much, andyoukissedKanda, but that's about it--"

The middle blurb of words had almost sounded more like a sneeze instead of actual words, but Lavi was able to catch what he said. But, just to be sure--

"I ... say what?"

"You kissed Kanda." Arystar mumbled, his face a very pale pink color by now.

" ... But I'm not dead," Lavi pointed out, "I'm pretty sure if I had done that to Yuu-chan he would of killed me before five seconds had passed ..."

"He almost did," Krory gulped, "Lenalee pulled you out of the way and--"

So the story was told, and Lavi gapped at Krory was the details were given.

"...So two Finders have photographic evidence?" Lavi asked once the tale was told.

"Yes."

"We're screwed."

"What?" Kory looked confused.

"The Finders have a site for themselves on the Order's golem channel. They post pictures like that and get prize money for the best ones." Lavi thought for a second. "Now would our picture be under 'Sexy Man-love' or 'Funny drunken moments?'"

The blood-sucking exorcist gapped. Lavi puled out of his thoughts with a shrug and, "Well, what our Yuu-chan doesn't know can't hurt him ... or get me skewered."

The two worked their way up deck, to see just how bad the storm was. None of the ships cabins had windows.

Reaching the doorway to the outside the two exchanged worried glances before daring to push it open. They had been right to be hesitant, the rain fell so hard it stung what little of them was within it's reach, the wind blowing it in all sorts of directions.

Komui was in the thick of it with the captain, the two of them yelling information back and forth. Lavi could see that Lenalee and Kanda were making their way below to the dragon deck by ladder when Gremlin burst upward from the hull.

The little dragon seemed to hang in the air for a moment, before being painfully brought down to the deck floor, the wind still pulling at him as if a he were a nothing more than a rag.

Which, by small stature alone, he was.

Lenalee and Kanda seemingly hadn't noticed the small green blur pass them, as they continued down into the holding below.

The small creature looked scared, now that it wasn't sheltered from the brunt of the storm. Lavi didn't blame it one bit, this storm was a frightening beast indeed.

But, still young, Gremlin didn't attach himself to the wooden planking like he should have, to wait for one of the exorcists or sailors to carry him back below, but instead looked around with his claws slipping on the wet floorboards.

Spotting Komui, the little dragon did its best to work its way over to the scientist, becoming a hazard to the sailors scrambling around him to keep the ship afloat. No one tripped, but several stumbled on the dragon, causing the poor thing to cry out in it's distress.

Komui finally noticed Gremlin and motioned for the captain to take control of the situation before making his way across the swaying deck to get the creature out of the way.

But then, a dark mass appeared over the side of the ship--

"Wave!" Lavi yelled, most of the seasoned sailors grabbed on to anything nearby at the shout out of pure reflex, but Komui had not such training for a life at sea, and no one was close enough to grab on to him when everything was suddenly covered in water.

Lavi and Krory held on for their dear lives as the volume of water rolled across the deck like a unfolding rug, and then was gone. The only proof that it had ever been on the rain-wet deck was the absence of the two that had been on it before.

Scientist and dragon were gone as if some mighty beast of the sea had just decided to take them, and in the chaos of wind and rain, even Lavi's eye could not spot any bobbing figures on the expanse of the tossing sea.

"Man overboard!" The call went out, but with a feeling of dread Lavi thought they may already be too late.

**/DRDRDR/**

Lenalee and Kanda had gone below deck, to close the opening in the deck and to make sure the dragons were fine.

The dragons were doing well, in fact, they hadn't even woken up yet. Smudge yawned and blinked at them as they made their way down, eyes lighting up at the sight of Kanda.

Of course, only after greeting the exorcists did the black beast notice the large fountain coming down upon their heads.

"My, whatever is going on up there?" He asked, the other dragons also beginning to stir.

"Storm." Kanda told him, working at the mechanics used to close the upper hatchway. Before the doors had even began to close, a great torrent of water washed downward, successfully waking the other dragons more quickly.

The other three sputtered and coughed, some steam rising out of Ammy's mouth as she hissed her displeasure at being so soaked.

"Man overboard!" The call went out from above. In a blink Lenalee was up and out, the only exorcist with the ability to help in this situation. Kanda closed the grate behind her, stopping the water flow.

Unfortunately, a large amount of liquid had still gotten in and they would have to pump it out. Kanda searched for the needed item among the stored luggage and was victorious within a few moments, the important machine in an easy to spot place among the baggage.

"What is _that_?" Sunny asked, shaking her head off and looking closely at it.

Kanda 'ched' at her to get out of the way, which the dragon did, and he quickly left one end of the pump in the water while pulling the other up the latter with him, leaving Sunny to poke at the noodle-like object in the water.

"What in the world does it do?" Sunny asked no one in particular.

"Maybe it is to give us a bubble bath," Ammy hissed sarcastically, spitting out flickers of flame in her agitation.

"I think it is to move the water _out,_" Smudge said, looking around at the glowing whit eyes of his companions. It had been dark before, but Kanda had had a small electrical source of light with him. Now the light was gone and their eyes cast beams into the darkness.

Among the screech of wind, rumble of thunder, and splatter if rain they heard a small humming noise rise up, and the water was quickly vacuumed into the tube.

"Do not worry Ammy," Isaac said, "We will all soon be dry."

"Damp, you mean." She complained. "I don't see any heater or drying contraption."

"It's better than swimming." Isaac pointed out.

"It's still wet."

"Will you ever be content?" Smudge asked exasperatedly.

"No." Came the ringing reply not just from Ammy, but the other two as well.

Feeling outnumbered, Smudge curled up and tried to go back to sleep, as there was nothing else for him to do to escape their chattering in the darkness.

**/DRDRDR/**

Lenalee flew upward, on deck before the sailor had a chance to repeat the call. "Where?" Was all she asked.

"Over the stern side," The sailor pointed in the general direction and she was off, skating over the rolling waves. She jumped and hovered above the mess of liquid, hoping to see a sign, any sign, of whoever had fell into the raging waters.

**/DRDRDR/**

Gremlin was very disoriented. One moment he had been sliding across the boat, trying to get to Brother, and the next moment both of them were tossing and tumbling in a world of force crushing air out of their lungs and small foamy bubbles blocking there vision of every which way while small to large debris pelted their bodies.

For a moment the pressure lessened and they were above the madness, mouths open and gasping, before they were hit hard by another wave pulled below again.

The pull and push of the water and lack of air made it impossible to think, impossible to tell which way was up, and impossible to yell for help.

It was a crazy ride of twisting and slamming into opposing forces and trying to get a breath every time they felt the water leave from their faces, more liquid getting in that the much needed oxygen.

Gremlin was dizzy and felt sick as they came up once more he screamed with all the air left in his lungs before something small and hard was lodged into his mouth and they were pulled into the dark depths once more.

**/DRDRDR/**

A screech split the air through the driving sounds of the rampaging storm, and Lenalee was flying in the sound's direction in a heart beat. Moments later she saw something white and soggy with a splash of green break the surface for a moment before going under.

Hoping whoever it was still had a chance of living, she dove under and grabbed what felt like chilled flesh surrounded by wet fabric and pulled it up above the waves. She knew it was a person by the way they immediately clung to her like she was the only solid thing to hold on to, which she probably was.

Looking at who she had grabbed, she was shocked to see that it was--

"Brother!" She exclaimed, and looking at his arms saw a half-drowned looking Gremlin clinging weakly to the fabric.

Komui was too busy spitting and coughing out the vast amount of sea water that had gotten down his throat to reply as his little sister carried them both back to the ship as fast as she could.

She gently put her brother down as he hacked, even more liquid spewing from his mouth. Gremlin slid down to the deck, breath weak and rasping as he coughed weakly.

Lavi, knowing some first aid, was next to them in a flash. Lenalee was glad to see him feeling better and able to help the two.

"Komui's doing fine," Lavi informed her, "He's just got to catch his breath." The Bookman apprentice then moved the the small shaking reptile.

His eye widened in alarm. He quickly whacked the little dragon's back, trying to get him to regurgitate the sea water in his lungs.

The little body was trying, the dragon arching and opening his mouth, but nothing was coming out. Recognizing that the pathway to the lungs must be clogged, Lavi grabbed the dragon's head and stuck his hand in it, making the green creature thrash weakly like a fish too long out of water.

He felt around in the dragon's windpipe, quickly finding the source of the block and yanking it out, there was not time for gentleness.

Once the hard, seaweedy glop was removed water ejected from the dragon's mouth like a spout, Gremlin gasping air in and out loudly.

The two recovered well, but Lenalee still forced them both back into Komui's cabin, which neither protested.

Lavi felt the small squishy seaweed he had taken from Gremlin's throat and looked at it in surprise, there was something harder wrapped within it.

As Gremlin and Komui recovered their breath, trying not to breath in rain with their gapping mouths as they made their way across the rocking deck, Lavi curiously unwrapped the item, only to find a gleam of silver.

Removing more gunk, it was revealed to be a rusted silver locket. The chain that must of once held it had long since been ripped or rusted away, leaving the small oval object the perfect size and shape to fit into the little dragon's gullet.

Pocketing the find, Lavi found that the wind had stopped howling and the rumbled of thunder was moving farther away. Moments after that, the clouds began to disperse, and all those on the ship looked around in awe as the storm was gone, as if it had never been.

Lavi smiled at the sun, and several sailors cheered and some even prayed thanks.

"Get moving, get moving!" The captain bellowed. "We were blown far off course, and we have to make up the lost time! Back to your stations!"

Lavi, realizing he would just get in the way, made his way across the deck, following Komui and Lenalee back to their cabins.

"How ya doing Yuu-chan?" Lavi said as he passed the samurai pumping water from the bottom of the ship to the side he was leaning over.

Kanda glared.

"_Yuu_ seem fine as usual," Lavi commented as he passed.

Kanda ignored the rabbit and continued pumping. Seemingly thinking that was the more important than cutting Lavi up.

Laughing quietly to himself and feeling much better than he had when he had woken up, Lavi went back over to the cabin door Krory was peaking out of.

"Are they going to be alright?" The older man asked, clearly meaning the two that had almost drowned.

"Yeah, they just need some rest and quiet to dry their lungs out." Lavi reassured him. Krory stayed at the door, enjoying the beautiful after-storm view, while Lavi went to his cabin and shut the door.

Improvement or not, he still had a throbbing head and was soaking wet. Deciding resting was the smart thing to do, he changed into some dry clothes and removed the locket, fingering the mostly smooth surface as he lay down in his cot once more.

It looked in great condition, except for the rusted hinges. Lavi tried to open it, only to find that it had sealed shut sometime during it's waterlogged existence. It really was a beautiful piece, the silver melded into swirling circular patterns that flowed into one another and seemed to twist and turn onto itself.

Slipping the new-found treasure into his wrapped up bandanna by his bed, Lavi turned off the small light in his room and tried to sleep, that being that best medicine for his headache.

**/DRDRDR/**

Gremlin was happy. He was curled up on a warm bed, Sister was petting him and Brother was coughing but well by his other side.

Bliss.

"You should try to get some sleep Brother," Lenalee was saying.

"Yeah, drowning really tired me out," Komui joked, coughing a bit more, but turned over and closed his eyes.

Gremlin heard Sister sigh and get up, stopping the petting.

He tried to whine at her to come back but it only came out as a cough, reminding him of his sore throat.

Curling up closer to Brother's back, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep too, but found his throat to be far to bothersome to do so easily.

Giving a sigh that sounded more like a rattle through his wet lungs, Gremlin just lay there in the warmth and listened to the sounds of waves, sailors, and Komui's breathing.

Sleep found him eventually.

End 5.

AN: Sorry, I know it was a little short, but it had to be done.

And for those of you a little confused:

-The next few chapters will hopefully answer a few of your questions.

-The end of Dragon's Eye has argumentative information against Isaac. Which set of information is true (the dragon's or mine) has yet to be told.

-Eventually information will come forward that will suggest that I am insane for writing this.

-The information is supposed to argue with itself, and make you all a little confused. Please point out points that are TOO confusing, and I will answer as my writing allows.

-Try to take note on who says what, and what really happens, no matter what poppycock I'm throwing at you.

And Remember:

-all the dragons have venom, even if they haven't found reason to use it.

-we know little to nothing about them, besides the fact that they were created of innocence.

-do we know that any of them are 'good' or 'bad?'

To separate reviewers points:

-**night.lupe**: There aren't two Allens ... but there are two dragons ... and two separate stories. It's confusing, I know and apologize, but it will become clearer towards the end of the story ... and that's really all I can say without giving spoilers ... I personally loved writing about Tim attacking Link, just because I laughed the entire time while I was writing it, and seeing my Beta guffaw after coming to that part.

-**Kayday**: O, wonderful and constant reviewer! I am sorry for lieing ... but I've got to so the story goes the way its supposed too ... believe me, the Beta is angry too ... and, (just between u, me, and every other that reads this) Allen's not going to die! ... yet. (insert evil laughter and Beta whacking me here)

-**Escalus**: I feel sorry for you, but at least you get to see snow ... down South there is no snow at all, and I miss it. Oh, the storm won! We had flooding of roads, closing of bridges, and several thousand people without power for various times, so the first day (Friday) was canceled do to 'uncertain' conditions. We had to go on Monday though, but it was nice to have that extra Summer day. Even if we couldn't go outside and were stuck watching movies and writing fanfiction all day. Hehe ...

-**addenza: **I know, I felt vaguely sad having to write it, but in a way it had to be done. Not everything can be perfect, and I highly doubted that Komui had ever really taken care of a pet-like creature before this, so I don't think he really knows what to do with the reptilian creature attaching itself to him ...

THANKS FOR REVIEWS!! They make me happy and make me want to write more!!

And to end this: OMAKE!! (U all really don't have to read this, there are no D.Gray-Man characters)

Knux33: (Looks at the small amount of reviews for this chapter and sighs) You don't think I'm making this too confusing and drawn out, do you?

Gremlin: (Ponders) Not me, I like chapters with me in them!

Knux33: You won't be centered in any chapters after this one, I think. I'm trying to get back to Allen. Everyone seems to be worried about him.

Gremlin: (Snorts) I'm cute-er than he is ...

Knux33: But Allen's story is so interesting! And a bit hard to write properly, I have to make sure I get 'him' right ... (Daydreams)

Gremlin: (Does not like to ignored) Hey! This story is about _dragons_, not Allen!

Knux33: (Blinks) Well, you're wrong about that. This is just as much abut Allen as it is about you dragons. And in some ways, even more so.

Gremlin: (Rolls eyes) And how do_ you_ know Boring-and-Crazy Human?

Knux33: Well ... I'm writing it ...

Gremlin: (Evil look) Put more me in it!

Knux33: (ignores look, and types a bit) ... no.

Gremlin: (Grabs large needle) Put more me or you get more shots!

Knux33: (Terribly afraid of needles and recently got three shots in a row) Oh God! Getitaway rightnow youlittlemaniac! Getitawaygetitaway!!

Gremlin: (evil as Komui)

Knux33: (Running away)

Beta Reader: _More Krory_! And that is all. (Bows, then chases Knux33 shouting 'more Krory' a few more times.)

Knux33: (Screams before jumping into ocean to escape needles and Beta's 'Krory' comments) Oh, and **PLEASE REMEMBER TO REVIEW!! **(jumps)

-knux33


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

**NOTE:** This is a longer than usual chapter, so get a comfy chair or maybe a snack or two ... and **I updated half-a-day early**! Decent that make u happy ... happy enough to review ... maybe? Please?

6.

The storm had blown them back five days worth of sailing. The captain was very discouraged at this, though his passengers didn't mind too much for the delay.

The dragons were particularly happy; they were far enough from the shore for them to be able to fly at will without fear of any pedestrians spotting them in action.

Lavi shared the locket with the rest of the group and they all took turns looking the trinket over. Well, Kanda couldn't care less about it, but still gave it a once over and tried prying it open before declaring it 'useless.'

Gremlin became quite attached to the item after Lavi had told him that it had been what had lodged into his mouth during the storm. It became hard to separate it from the green lizard, as he would keep it with himself at all times, claiming it for himself.

"Mine." Gremlin had told them all one day on deck as Lavi tried to coax him into giving it up. "_Mine_."

"I just want to have another look at it," Lavi said, trying to grab it from the dragon's claws. Gremlin fluttered just out of his reach.

"Mine." And the matter was settled ... after Lavi chased the dragon around the deck for a few hours and decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

It was a beautiful cloudless day and the exorcists were taking the time to relax. Who knew when the Earl would decide to strike again, or the Noah would attack, or any really calamitous disaster would happen?

For now, all there was for them were playful dragons swimming and flying above the waves. A time of peace, all of them had learned, was one not to be wasted.

"Miiiine!" Gremlin sang from high above, "Mine,mine MINE, mine mine!" He seemed to be going off key on purpose as he smiled at those that flinched at his high notes.

Kanda 'ched,' as he sat on the boat's railing, polishing his Mugen while Smudge swam in the sea below, asking if Kanda would like to come down and join him.

"No."

Smudge was content just to swim alongside the boat as long as Kanda was there, though it really would of been more fun if the samurai would of joined him in the water.

Isaac glided lazily around the boat, once and a while mock diving at Ammy and Sunny, who were having a water war.

Lavi was laughing at Komui as Gremlin attached himself to the scientist's head. "Miiiine,"

"Get off!" Komui yelled in vain.

Gremlin smiled at his face. "Me on."

"Argh! Lenaleeeee!" He whined. "Heeeelp!"

"Yes brother?" She asked. She was watching Ammy and Sunny as they splashed about, causing large waves to wash against the side of the ship.

"Get it off!"

"Me stay on!"

"Brother, I think you should just let him do what he wants for a while."

"_What_?"

"If you don't fight him about it maybe he'll get bored and look for something more entertaining to do."

Komui glared, and Gremlin smiled from his perch.

"On, on, on, on, on!" The dragon sang happily. The scientist's face turned a burning red under the dragon's green scales, at least _trying_ to control himself.

"F-fine..."

"Yay!" Gremlin exclaimed, wings flapping.

"Heyheyhey! Stop!" Komui swayed haphazardly under the dragon's moving weight. Though Gremlin was still _very_ small compared to the other dragons, like a kitten compared to a train, he was still big enough to upset Komui's balance when moving in such an excited way. Especially when sitting on top of the scientist's head.

Gremlin stopped flapping and opted for rubbing his cheek against the supervisor's hair. "Miiiine..." He purred.

"Lenalee!" Komui whined again, "It just got _worse_!"

Lavi was laughing his head off at the scene, having to hold onto the deck railing to stay upright while Kanda ignored them all.

What the samurai couldn't ignore, however, was when Sunny's head rose over the stern side of the boat like some great sea leviathan, scaring most of the deckhands silly.

"Where is Miranda?" Her supernatural eyes paralyzed most everyone on board. "It has been much too long since the last time I have seen her. Ammy's Servant--" She demanded, making Lavi jump, "--go get her for me so I may see her."

Kanda glared at the large yellow head blocking his sun and Smudge could be heard meekly asking below if she could move over. Lavi gapped at her.

"And just what makes you think I will answer you're beck and call, oh scaly one?"

Sunny looked at him as if he were a small and unimportant rabbit among a dozen others. "You are a Servant after all, and Ammy has given me permission to use you for the task."

Lavi glowered at her in a very Kanda-ish way, and then called out to the orange beast floating lazily out in the water, "I am _not_ for sale or rent!"

"Yes you are," Ammy called back, turning to drift on her back. "You are my Servant. Anyway Sunny is _borrowing_ you, not buying you."

"That just makes it the same as rent!" Lavi pulled irritatedly at his headband, "Demands and orders from one dragon are enough, but _more_?" The Bookman apprentice whined. "You might as well slip a leash and collar on me and call me a dog, 'cause thats how you're treating me Ammy!"

"Are you going to get Miranda or not?" Sunny asked, looking bored with their arguing.

"I'm a going, I'm a going," Lavi said, rolling his eye. "But only because I'm getting worried about her too."

Sunny smiled a dragon smile and slid back into the water, giving Smudge back his space and Kanda his sun. Lavi made his way back to where they were all rooming, trying to walk around the working shipmen.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen much of the shy woman throughout the entire voyage; and he had seen no sign of her at all after the Cross incident and the storm.

He finally reached Miranda's door and knocked softly on the wood. "Miranda?" He called.

Testing the door, Lavi was surprised to find it unlocked. "Miranda?" He found her; not by sight, but by sound. As soon as the door had been opened a slit he heard a dry retching sound coming from within. Pushing the door fully open, he saw her sitting on her bed, her hair pulled tightly back into a bun no one had seen her sport since before she joined the order, and a bucket in hand.

"Miranda!" She looked greener than Gremlin on a sunny day, and seemed horrified that Lavi saw her so sick.

"I'm fine, I'm--" Her sentence was cut short as she paled, then quite suddenly emptied her stomach contents into the bucket.

Lavi rushed over, though there was little he could do besides rub her back comfortingly and make sure her hair stayed in it's bun. "You're sick."

"I'm not! I'm just--" Miranda turned pale, but swallowed down hard and continued. "Just a little seasick."

"You were fine on the Edo trip," Lavi pointed out, glancing at the bucket that had some yellow acidic mess lining the bottom.

"Everything was under Time Recovery then." She looked very pale. "And I can't just do that now, we still have--" Miranda swallowed hard again, eying the bucket. "--weeks--" Thats all the poor seasick exorcist could say before her stomach tried to empty itself again, though there wasn't much to expel besides some more acid.

Lavi watched her worriedly. "Let me get you some water."

"Mr. Arystar has already gone to get--"

Her sentence was cut as the said exorcist poked his head hesitantly in, glass of water in hand. He walked in and handed the sick woman the water, which she took with a thank-you. Sickness apparently overruled most emotion (including shy fear) at the moment.

"I found her like this a little while ago and went to get her some water." Krory said.

"Good," Lavi watched as she swooshed the first mouthful in her mouth to get the taste of bile out before drinking. "You should brush your teeth."

"I have been," Miranda said, looking a little better, but still pale. The ever present bags under her eyes looked darker than usual.

"I'm going to go ask if they have any ginger in the kitchens. It might help." Lavi got up from the bed, and Krory took his spot without having to be asked. "Make sure she's comfortable."

The older man nodded, though Miranda was staring to look far better than she had before, her stomach settling after the abrupt purge. She even had the energy to protest, abet weakly.

Lavi ignored her and went on his way to the kitchen on the other side of the ship, pondering on how she could have been this ill without anyone knowing for so long. Sure, her absence wasn't easily noticed, but someone should have noted her lack of attendance at meals.

More disgruntled over the fact that none of them had even thought to go looking for her sooner than the fact that Miranda had kept it to herself, Lavi passed the working shipmen and chatting dragons and got to the kitchens relatively quickly without being noticed.

There, he found the ships cook was nowhere to be seen and, wishing Jerry were around, he quickly lit a fire in one of the ovens, started boiling some water and threw in some ginger and honey for a tea.

Waiting for the concoction to mix properly, Lavi looked at the rest of the food stocked and calculated how long it would last. They had a lot of food stocked, not counting the meat in the lower deck, plenty to last until they docked a few days from now. And then they would sail on, and on, and stop, and sail on--

Noticing the pot of boiling ginger and honey had stewed enough, Lavi put out the fire and brought the entire pot and a small cup with him, grabbing a few raw ginger roots for later or for making Miranda chew for a stronger effect. Making his way across the deck yet again, Sunny spotted him and called, "Where is Miranda?"

"She's sick. I'm bringing her some tea to help settle her stomach." He held up the pot and cup for all to see, unable to pull the roots out of his pockets.

"Miranda's sick?" Lenalee asked, Komui stopping his argument with the dragon on his head and turned to listen. Kanda paused in his polishing.

"Its just motion sickness." Lavi reassured them.

"Why wasn't I told sooner!" Sunny exclaimed, grabbing the side of the boat, lifting herself partially onto the deck, and making the ship tilt slightly. Several people yelled in surprise and grabbed onto whatever was nearby.

"I didn't know until I found her in her room!" Lavi exclaimed, trying not to fall flat on his face or drop the precious liquid as the ship wobbled under the dragon's weight focused on one side. "She didn't tell any of us!"

Sunny narrowed her eyes. "Where is she?"

"I-in her room." Lavi said, "And I think it would be best if she stayed there for now--"

"But I want to _see her_!" Sunny objected, "I should see her if she is unwell!"

"I highly doubt anything of your proportions would fit..." Komui stated, glasses flashing in the sunlight.

Gremlin, nodding, said with all seriousness from the scientists head, "You too fat."

And so the two stood, Sunny staring at them in shock. Once that emotion wore off, however, the dragon became angry. Very angry. "What did the green bug say?"

"Fat." The 'bug' said, looking ever noble sitting on Komui's head like a pampered feline.

"Much too big." Komui agreed, stealing some tea from the surprised Lavi and sipping at it. "Good, but it could use a little sugar."

"Little sugar." Gremlin commented, taking a sniff.

"I don't _care_." She growled threateningly at the two, dagger-like teeth revealed by her snarl. "I want to see Miranda _now_."

Lavi snatched back the tea cup from Komui and ran off, hoping the dragon wouldn't overturn the ship or break through the floorboards to get to the sick Miranda.

He heard Smudge trying to get Sunny to calm down, and the apprentice Bookman wondered if the black dragon was the only one with any sense at all. Isaac was still gliding above, doing lazy loops through the clouds, and Ammy had also gone into the air, licks of flame slipping through her mouth as she laughed at them all from the sky.

Gremlin, the little demon, was provoking Sunny even more, singing something like:

"The sun is far to fat,

the sun is far to fat,

It broke the moon and choked the loon just by sitting on that!

The sun is much to round,

far wider than my crown,

It ate a cake while drinking the lake, and pulled the whole earth down!"

Sighing in relief as he jumped into Miranda's room and slammed the door behind him, he grinned at the confused occupants. "It's becoming a circus out there," He told them, pouring some of the ginger tea out for Miranda. She carefully took the cup in slightly trembling fingers and gulped down the concoction, looking surprised at the pleasant taste."And if your feeling better, I think Sunny would like to see you."

"Oh," Miranda looked surprised. "I didn't think she would mind much, with all this other stuff to look at--"

"She minds." Lavi said, feeling the boat tilt father as Sunny probably climbed fully onto the deck. Maybe she was trying to eat Gremlin ... "And she really didn't like the fact that you didn't tell her you were sick."

Miranda's pale cheeks turned slightly pink in a small blush. "I'm sorry if she caused any trouble--"

"Miranda," Lavi interrupted. "You shouldn't keep things like this to yourself."

"Lavi is right." Krory said, shuffling his feet. "You should of told us you were feeling unwell."

"I'm sorry ..."Miranda looked gloomy yet again. "I didn't want to trouble you all ..."

"Well," Lavi reassured the woman with a grin. "At least it's really nothing serious. Now lets let Sunny get a good look at you to reassure her that you're not dead or dieing."

Krory and Lavi helped Miranda to her feet and supported the woman on both sides as they made their way slowly but surly back up onto the deck, where Gremlin could still be heard singing a tune in a familiar high pitch.

"Sunny isn't fun,

Sunny isn't fun,

Better go fast,

Escape her clasp,

Before she tries to eat me!"

Lavi hoped nothing bad was going to happen ...

"Gremlin you little gnat! Come back here!" Stepping into the sunlight, Lavi wasn't as surprised as Krory and Miranda to find Sunny coiling around the ships masts and roping, vainly trying to capture a fleeing Gremlin in her open jaws.

The poor sailors were climbing the rigging and some were even jumping into the thankfully calm waters of the sea to get out of the yellow bulldozer's way.

Sunny wasn't big enough to cover the entire ship, she and the other dragons were slick enough to be familiarized with serpents. But they were all thick enough to carry at least seven people along their backs with no real trouble and long and whip-y enough to be a force to be reckoned with when zipping by at high speeds, like Gremlin and Sunny were doing now.

Lavi stood at the doorway with Miranda and Krory, watching the creature's antics for a few moments before yelling out in a cheerful tone, "Sunny-chan! Miranda's here!"

The dragon turned her head, and a broad smile appeared over the look of rage she had had before. "Miranda!"

Sunny did a mind bending u-turn in mid-air and flew straight as an arrow to the sick exorcist, scaring both Lavi and Krory enough with the speed of her approach that they dived out of the way as Sunny grabbed Miranda (in a surprisingly gentle manner for something so fast) and they were no more than a dot in the sky above.

Krory looked up hesitantly, and blinked. "Will she be alright--?" He asked Lavi as the red-head picked himself up and dusted off his coat.

"Yeah," Lavi said, helping Krory up. "Miranda didn't seem to get air-sick during the desert trip, and the fresh air might do her some good."

"Good!" Gremlin exclaimed, popping up out of nowhere and surprising both exorcists. "Good, Bookmam!"

Lavi stared and Krory looked confused.

_Bookmam?_

"I'm _Lavi_," The read head emphasized, wondering how the dragon could make up an insulting song on the spot but forget names in the blink of an eye. "_La_-vi. The panda's name is Bookman."

"Lala?" Gremlin tried, perching on the apprentice Bookman's shoulder.

"Lavi."

"Lava?"

"Lavi."

Krory followed mellowly behind the two as Lavi walked over to where the other exorcists were hanging around and Komui was giving a mumbled speech to himself.

"Loco?"

"Lavi."

"Lav-ish?"

"Lavi."

Lavi picked up the small Gremlin off his shoulder and placed him back onto Komui's, and neither seemed to notice.

"Hmmm," Gremlin whined dryly, sounding defeated.

"Rabbit, stop confusing the_ baka eki_ and do something useful for a change." Kanda grumbled, inspecting his sword closely before polishing. "Like get me higher quality oil, this stuff doesn't make the metal shine properly."

"Aw, Yuu-chan!" Lavi complained cheerfully. "I'm just trying to correct his pronunciation--"

"Rabbit!" Gremlin said, seemingly accepting this as the red-head's name.

Lavi panicked, "Now wait--!"

"What is a '_baka eki_?'" Gremlin asked Kanda, Lavi's name already set.

Kanda ignored the question, more intent on the oil drying properly on his sword than the dragon asking a question.

"I believe it means something along the lines of 'idiot lizard' in Japanese." Lavi commented.

Gremlin blinked, then snarled at Kanda "That is not very nice! Me waaaay smarter than you, Kanda!"

Komui choked on air, Krory flinched, Lenalee's eyes widened, and Lavi was trying _very_ hard not to laugh.

Kanda stiffened for a moment, his sword shining in the sunlight, and then his eyebrow twitched and he slowly turned his head to glare at the green creature.

Smudge's head peeked above the ship's railing, his dragon eye glaring at the same green spot on Komui's shoulder.

"That was a very rude thing to say Gremlin!" Smudge exclaimed, while Kanda approached the dragon with murderous intentions, Mugen flashing eagerly in the sun as it was activated by it's accommodator.

"Kanda started it!" Gremlin squawked, smart enough to flee into the sky, where Kanda couldn't reach him. The samurai however, wasn't easily deterred.

Leaping onto Smudge's vast black head, he crouched between the dragon's ebony horns and snapped at him to give chase. The black dragon flapped obediently, covering the entire ship in salty droplets of seawater as he did an awkward water take off.

"Wow," Lavi said, staring upward. "I didn't know Kanda could ride bareback like that."

Indeed it was a very awesome sight, the samurai balancing perfectly on top of the dragon's head as they rose upward at a speed almost unheard of; Gremlin looking scared as he avoided their pursuit by weaving in among the other flying dragons.

Smudge, apparently, was not as intent on revenge as the young male on his head. The black beast was careful as he wove around the other creatures in their chase, even as Kanda shouted at him to move faster, the exorcist's voice muffled by wind.

Gremlin noticed this, and grew bolder; slowing down to stick his tongue out in plain sight. Lavi and the others, far below on the ship's deck, watched the spectacle at a distance.

"Hmmm ..." Komui pondered. "When the green annoyance bothers someone else--" A silly grin broke across his face. "--it stops bothering _me_."

Lenalee sighed and Lavi gave the man a one-eyed stare. "And you just figured that out _now_?"

Any other comments were kept to their owners as Komui's golem beeped frantically for attention from his pocket.

"Oh?" Komui wrestled the thing free, a few gears and screws wiggling out accidentally to roll across the deck, and answered it with a cheerful greeting. "Helloooo! Komui speaking!"

That greeting was answered by-- "Chief supervisor, please send me some damn medics_ now_." The voice sounded pained and agitated, like the speaker was grinding his teeth together.

Lavi perked up, exclaiming "There are only two people I know that talk like that! And since Yuu-chan is busy chasing Gremlin--" Lavi stuck his face at the golem and greeted the sender with, "Two pimple-chan! How are you doing?"

"I'm _bleeding_."

"Oh, that sounds nice," Lavi chirped, making everyone else gape at him, "Did you fall down the stairs?"

"An akuma torn my bloody back open!" The inspector screeched, the golem maxing out it's volume. "How is that supposed to be '_nice_'?!"

"I'd say you're having a bad day." Komui commented.

"Yep. Pretty bad day for two-pimple face." Lavi agreed, the two both acting ridiculously serene. That just made Howard even more ticked than he already was.

"If you do not send help immediately--" There was a crash, then an intake of breath that sounded like steam hissing through a tube.

"Howard?" Lenalee asked hesitantly. As much as she hatted to say it, "Are you alright?"

"No." It sounded like his teeth were clenched again. "Chief Supervisor, maybe you could tell me why there is so much ... _junk_, left all over the floor?"

"Oh!" Komui looked like a light bulb had gone off in his head. "Are you in lab 16?"

"... _yes_." The answer was hissed.

"Because thats were we put all of the trash silly!" Komui was in a very cheerful mood for some unknown reason. Maybe it was because the creature that had lost his favorite beret to the sea was in danger of being chopped to pieces by an irritable samurai. "We had to dump the extra junk somewhere!"

"... medics. Now. I'll make my way up to balconies." Howard didn't sound as angry as before. In fact, he sounded like he was in a lot of pain.

"Don't worry Two-pimple! We'll come get you!" Lavi said into the golem, handing the ginger tea and root to a confused Krory. "Make sure Miranda drinks plenty of this, and if she feels sick again tell her to chew on some of the root."

"Lavi?" Komui asked. "Are you volunteering?"

"Yep!" The exorcist did a mock salute. "Apprentice Bookman, practicing medic, and dude with big akuma squashing hammer ready for duty!"

The section leader blinked and everyone else glanced at the red-head.

"Lavi," Lenalee asked hesitantly, "Are you sure you're all right? You seem a little ..."

"Unstable?" Krory offered.

"Unstable at the moment."

"I'm great!" Lavi was being overly enthusiastic, that much was obvious. "I'll go grab Yuu-chan and we'll both go patch up Two-pimple so all his hot air doesn't bleed out."

He called Ammy over (the orange 'queen' actually listening for once) and quickly vaulted onto her back as she swam near the ship. The jump had looked impossible to the sailors climbing back on board after Sunny scared them off, but the exorcist made the leap of faith, making them all go slack jawed with amazement.

Krory watched his friend take to the sky, Smudge breaking off of his Gremlin chase, and the rest of the dragons flew alongside the orange Ammy. Sunny and Gremlin broke away and returned to playing in the sea as Smudge, Ammy, and Issac flying to the north.

Krory wondered at that, the white dragon joining them made the group look almost like an attack force in V formation, Ammy at point, but shook away the stray thought. Sunny was swimming to the ship, causing the sailors still pulling themselves up to hull their body mass against gravity all the faster.

Sunny didn't seem to care much about the panicking humans; Miranda apologized for her from the dragon's back, though the woman looked green as Sunny bobbed above the water like a large, oval cork, and the green deepened when she looked at the ship.

"Miranda?" Sunny asked, her large yellow head twisting to look the exorcist straight in the eye.

"I-I'm fine!" Miranda hastily reassured her. "I'll just drink some more of the ginger tea Lavi made and--"

"And you were sick without telling me." Sunny said.

Miranda blinked. "Y-yes, but--"

"You haven't eaten or slept properly for days." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, but--"

"You even tried to hide the fact from our friends."

"But--"

"Miranda Lotto," Sunny sounded a lot like a scolding mother at this point, and those on the ship were quite amazed at the show. "You may not wish to be a burden, but by hiding your illness you became one. If you really want to help others so much, start by taking proper care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself also involves asking others for help when you can't do it yourself. Understand?"

Miranda, looking tearfully at the dragon for caring so much, nodded.

Sunny smiled. "Good."

Gremlin flew down and hovered onto Miranda's shoulder. He gave the exorcist a curious look. "Green?"

Miranda was looking very green. Sunny carefully lifted the woman, Gremlin and all, back onto the ship. She had seemingly forgiven the smaller dragon for his earlier antics.

Krory handed Miranda a full cup of the ginger tea and she thanked him before gulping the liquid down, looking a little less sickly already.

"You green like me!" Gremlin exclaimed before flying over to Lenalee's shoulder. "She green like Gremlin." He whispered loudly into the girl's ear.

Lenalee giggled, and Komui was squinting upward. "Well," The scientist commented. "He sure was in a hurry."

"Well, we really don't want Howard to bleed to death."

"..." Komui didn't say anything.

"Brother?" Lenalee said warningly.

"Well ... we wouldn't have to put up with his attitude anymore if he did happen to ..."

"Brother!"

Gremlin giggled, sounding almost like a squeaky toy in his half-contained happiness. "Brother doesn't like boring human."

Lenalee couldn't hold back her laughter and both Miranda, Krory, and Komui joined in. Krory said quietly, "He can be a bit of a stiff sometimes ..."

Miranda agreed with, "And he isn't very nice or polite. Smudge is more of a gentleman than him!"

"Gentle_dragon_!" Gremlin emphasized. "Boring human not good. Needs more nice."

"I completely agree!" Komui exclaimed. Gremlin flew back to him from Lenalee's shoulder. "I say we start an operation to make inspector Howard Link less ill-tempered!"

"Ill temper?" Gremlin said, then added with a determined voice, "We must un-ill Boring Human's temper!"

Miranda smiled, Krory looked to be holding back laughter, and Lenalee was giggling uncontrollably. The two conspirators both bounced one ridiculous idea after another off another, ignoring the other's laughter.

**/DRDRDR/**

Meanwhile; (already miles away and quite a ways up) Lavi, Ammy, Kanda, Smudge, and Isaac were well on their way to the abandoned Headquarters.

They were eating away the distance it had taken them to travel at such a great pace that Lavi wondered whether it was a better idea for them to fly the distance to the new Headquarters once they had taken care of Howard.

"So, Yuu-chan,--"

"_Kanda_, idiot rabbit" The other exorcist grumbled.

"--any idea on why one akuma would sneak into an empty building just to claw at Allen's guard dog without even causing fatal damage?"

Isaac and Smudge glanced at each other, eyes sparking with curiosity, and Kanda scowled at Lavi as Ammy turned to look at the human on her back. "Observant question Servant, why would an akuma do such a thing?"

"I dunno." Lavi leaned forward in a lazy, laying position on Ammy's long back. "That's why I was asking."

"Ulterior motives?" Isaac suggested. "Maybe it was getting something you all left behind, and the inspector was in the way."

"It might have been simply stupid." Ammy said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe it just wanted to play with him." Smudge said quite seriously, earning stares from everyone else.

"Maybe _you_ are simply stupid ..." Ammy muttered under her breath.

A very large creature, with lungs bigger than most small horses and a mouth that could easily swallow a person whole, is ... not very good at saying things quietly.

"I am _not_!" Smudge looked shocked. "I just think that if I were a mechanical monster being powered by a tormented soul in a perpetual state of ever increasing anguish and pain that I would still like to do something entertaining every once and a while besides just _kill_ people!"

"... so ... it was ... bored?" Lavi asked after the dragon's little speech.

"... that is the idea." Smudge answered, looking away embarrassedly.

Isaac looked intrigued. "So, because the akuma was bored, it decided to 'play' with the inspector by slicing him open, _without_ killing him, before going on it's way?"

"Yes."

Ammy opened her mouth, and slowly but clearly told Smudge, "You. Are. Simply. Stupid."

Kanda and Lavi, all but forgotten, glanced at each other.

"This is worse than the arguments you and Allen have."

"Che."

"You're right Yuu. That one time with the spaghetti and soba _was_ worse than this ..." Kanda glared at Lavi and the rabbit just smiled back.

There were times the apprentice Bookman was glad he had his own dragon to ride, far out of Kanda's reach. But most of the time--

"So Servant, how are you going to fix the inspector?" The beast asked, "I don't see any sort of medical tools handy."

"Ah, but just because you do not _see_ anything on me, doesn't mean I haven't brought anything."

"Then what did you bring?" Ammy asked. Lavi sighed and puled out a small first aide kit from his jacket. "Oh. How long has that been there?"

"Since we left Headquarters. I thought it might come in handy."

"... you still think too much." The dragon sounded as if it were a bad thing. "I must do something to remedy that."

"What?" Lavi looked puzzled. "Since when have I thought too much?"

"The day I choose you to be my Servant I recall you thinking a lot. You paced and mumbled and looked very far away." She glared back at him. "And because of that you didn't notice me and almost _stepped_ on me."

Lavi blinked, then smiled. "Well, I don't think your in much danger of being stepped on _now._" He gestured to her 50 yard form and twice as long wingspan. "You're more likely to step on _me_."

(Think foot-ball fields people, yards and such. Or look for a picture on the Internet. That's how I judged it ...)

"You still think to much when you should be attending to _my_ needs."

"You're needs? Their still feeding you, right?"

"...yes."

"You're comfortable, right?"

She snorted. "As comfortable as one can be stuck in a floating wood-barrel I suppose."

"And no one bothers you?"

"Besides the Gremlin bug? No."

"Well then!" Lavi said cheerfully. "I believe your needs are being adequately met."

That earned him another snort. "But _you_ do not visit often enough."

Lavi got an understanding look on his face. "Oh. Well, that can't be helped. And I'll probably visit even less when we start working again."

"Working?"

He listed them off casually. "Looking for Innocence, destroying akuma, trying not to be killed by Noah, doing Bookman work. Stuff like that."

"Oh."

Isaac listened curiously, then turned his ears to the other pair talking passed Ammy and Lavi.

Smudge was asking Kanda a question. Apparently it was one of several already asked. "Could we possibly destroy some akuma on the way back? There seem to be several in that town over--"

"Maybe."

"If we fly a little faster we will get to home--"

"It's not home."

"--Headquarters--"

"It's no longer our Headquarters."

"-- ... we will get to where we are going faster and maybe we could see if the akuma is still around so we may kill it!"

"Maybe."

Isaac decided that Smudge's chosen didn't talk much unless provoked, and was glad his chosen was not that way. His chosen was _far_ more interesting and fun to be with than either Ammy's or Smudge's.

The flight continued much in the same manner, with conversation to pass the time. It was even a little boring, but they were a little over half-way there when things got a little more interesting.

Well, a lot more interesting.

Ammy had been point, with Smudge gliding at her back-right, and Isaac on her left, creating a triangle. The air currents were favorable at best, and a little against them at worst, but they worked for their normal seven-to-eight hundred miles per hour flight speed.

Lavi had been wondering how the wind, though very violent and stinging against his skin, was no where near as intense as it had been the first flight. Almost as if--

Quickly doing a once over of the surrounding sky, Lavi found that was they passed by small wisps of cloud (avoiding the larger of the fluffy masses because it would not be pleasant being wet at such a windy altitude for long) the small groups of mist were pushed away and forced back by an invisible force.

Some force of power, possibly from the innocence the dragons were made of, made the high altitude and fast speeds close to comfortable for the passengers.

Lavi just had to wonder what these great beasts _couldn't_ do, before Isaac's head jerked to attention and his wings seemed to lock into a glide half-way through a beat.

"Isaac?" Smudge called over. "Are you all right?"

The white dragon seemingly ignored Smudge, but he did snap out of the frozen, tense pose he had been in and began to pick up speed.

"Hey," Lavi called at the white back pulling away. "What's the rush?"

Isaac did not answer, but he did continue to gain speed. Ammy snuffed at him as he pulled farther away and continued on, still accelerating. Needless to say the other dragon did not like being ignored.

"What ever is he up to?" No one could answer the question.

Smudge flew up to glide side-by-side with Ammy, so the four could converse more easily. Looking down at the seaside landscape, quickly becoming countryside and more land than sea, Lavi commented, "We're about half-way there." Kanda nodded. "I don't know what Isaac's doing, but can you two catch up to him?"

Ammy scoffed. "I am sure I can go faster."

"I can go as fast as Kanda wants me to." Smudge said with a type of determination.

"'Kay," Lavi smiled at his companions. "I say we catch up to him then. Who's with me?"

Kanda rolled his eyes and Smudge sailed passed, bat-like appendages flapping smoothly and strongly. Ammy soon picked up her pace and Lavi leaned down closer to her deep orange back to give less wind resistance.

But the chase soon became more of a friendly race than anything else, Ammy taunting Smudge and the black dragon doing tricks at high speed, just to prove he could while maintaining the slight lead he had gotten.

The finish line was the white dot in the distance, still keeping a healthy distance between himself and the other two, though they did draw continually closer.

Of course, when the colossal shape of a glowing white cube appeared on the horizon the old Headquarters seemed to grow all too rapidly in their sight, jumping closer with each powerful wing beat.

Isaac seemed to have disappeared, before they began to circle the spire of a building looking for landing space, spotting his white form just inside a smashed wall on the side.

Ammy hovered as Smudge carefully flapped closer, meaning to also squeeze in, when the spectators heard a sound akin to water begin thrown onto a hot surface with a violent, angry hiss, only magnified to the volume of lions bellowing at each other.

Smudge did a startled back-wing flap, fleeing from the noise, as Isaac tumbled out of the hole, something one third his size attached to his throat and torso.

It took a half-a-second for Lavi to realize it was a relatively small dragon clinging to Isaac's neck and upper chest, back legs digging into the larger dragon's belly.

Isaac, to give him some credit, wasn't taking it standing down, but was scratching and clawing at the attacker, tearing at the small gray beast's back and wings, the only part he could reach.

As Lavi absorbed this, Ammy abruptly folded her wings and dove after them, aiming to grab them both before they reached the ground that was rising up to meet them.

Smudge also plummeted with them, body like a black missile in the air.

Though Isaac had fallen, his wing still beat in a vain attempt to both slow the fall and pummel his attacker, the gray dragon kept his wings tightly shut, trying to keep them away from being clawed by the larger dragon's attempted attacks.

It's hard to time exactly how long they fell, time seemingly slowing down as it does in such extreme circumstances, but Smudge, closer to the combatants, was able to pull the gray dragon off of Isaac a small distance from the ground, leaving the larger beast to right itself and soften his own landing (as he had gotten beyond the point of pulling back up at such a close distance to the ground).

Smudge held the small dragon, _very_ small compared to him, by the upper torso, pinning both wings and forearms.

"Let go!" The small beast yelled back at him, trying to twist it's head into a proper position to bite him. "Let go _now_!"

Smudge held on tighter, squeezing some breath out of the captured aggressor. "I dare say _not_. Why ever were you trying to hurt Isaac?"

"White too close!" It whimpered, the loudest sound it could make in the crushing 'hug'. "Too close to Allen!!"

"Bean-sprout?" Kanda asked.

"Mr. Allen is _here_!?" Smudge exclaimed gleefully. "Oh! Sorry!" He let the small beast go and it dropped a few feet before unfurling it's wings and hovering, glancing curiously at the large black dragon.

"Allen here. Who you?"

"Smudge," The one so named told him. "And you are--?"

"Speck." The speckled gray said, looking more comfortable. "Who that?" He glanced at Ammy on the ground, as she had landed for Lavi to look at Isaac's wounds, but none of the three below had heard what was being said above.

"Ammy, the orange one, she's bossy sometimes, Lavi is the person looking at the damage you did to Isaac--" Smudge gave the smaller beast a pointed look at this, but Speck didn't look like he felt guilty about the attack at all. "-- and Isaac is Isaac. Oh! And this is Kanda!"

"Oi, Rabbit!" The samurai ignored the introduction, and instead called down to Lavi. "Looks like bean-sprout finally decided to show up!"

"Allen!?"

Speck blinked. These people were sure happy to hear that Allen was here.

Lavi vaulted up onto Ammy and she flew upward towards them, Isaac following limply. Speck growled as the white beast flew upward and grew closer, but Smudge flew between him and the approaching dragon's warningly. "No fighting."

"But--"

"_No fighting_."

Speck whined at Smudge, then growled at Isaac. Ammy noticed and looked down her nose at the stranger. "And just what is _this_ runts problem?"

Kanda 'ched' in annoyance at her and pointedly asked Lavi, "So are we going to gab all day? I thought we had some Inspector to patch up and a bean-sprout to find."

"Sprout?" Speck asked Smudge, as the black dragon was seemingly the only respectable one of the bunch.

"Allen."

"Oh."

"GET THE BLOODY HELL UP HERE!!" A small dot roared from the whole in the wall above them all.

"Hmm, yeah, Two-pimple does not sound happy." Lavi commented. Both Ammy and Smudge flew upward, but Isaac and Speck hung back.

"If you don't mind, I think I'll humor my knew little friend here!" The white dragon called up. "I'm quite cut up enough as it is, please take care of Allen Lavi!"

"'Kay!" The red-head called back. Once the other two were inside, Isaac and Speck landed in the forest to lick their wounds. And talk.

"Why didn't you let me see Allen?" Isaac sounded like he was trying not to sound angry, but failing. He carefully licked at the bleeding holes now apparent on his neck and belly.

"Why you want see him?" Speck growled back, trying in vain to reach at the scratches on his back oozing red slowly.

"He's my chosen."

Speck's head whipped around to give the white beast a proper glare, though it wasn't very intimidating. "Al-len _mine_."

Isaac snarled. "He's _mine_."

Speck just growled. "You _stay away_."

"Just as long as you stay _farther_ away!"

Growl.

Snarl.

Grrr.

"Be quiet."

"Quiet Is-_sack_!"

"You be quiet _Speck_."

"You quiet -_sack!_"

"_Speck_."

"-_sack_."

Grrr.

Growl.

**/DRDRDR/**

Mark was getting really tired of random dragons shoving themselves in his face. Sure, Speck was all right, he was _small_, but first that white thing comes in, gets Speck into a hissy fit, and they both tumble on out.

Now, his sister felt warmer than ever, this _jerk_ was yelling at them outside to get back inside. Well, if the two dragons were duking it out Mark himself would rather they do so _outside_--

But of course two _totally different_ dragons fly in instead. Squeezing in one at a time, their passengers were almost peeled off, as the hole had been Speck-sized, thought the white beast had gotten in without much trouble.

God, a few months ago he'd never seen one before, and know they were _everywhere_!

"Hi-ya Two-pimple!" Lavi called to Howard, "Have you seen--"

"It's about damn time you got here!" The jerk said quite loudly for someone with his back torn open, leaning against the broken wall. "Walker's over there." He jerked his head in Mark and Val's direction, due to the fact they were sitting right next to him.

Mark didn't think they meant any harm when the red-head was obviously upset by Allen's appearance, but he quickly rushed over.

The Asian, Mark couldn't tell what kind, took one look and rolled his eye's with what sounded like a 'che,' as if he had expected as much, before running over as well.

Lavi, of course, assumed Allen's unconscious status was caused by the large, but cleanly bleeding, gash on his right shoulder. Kanda, of course, assumed he had gotten into this state because he was a _baka moyoshi_, and that was just the sort of trouble idiot bean-sprouts got into.

Neither payed much attention to the kids.

"Ugh, nasty," Lavi commented, peeling off Allen's jacket and shirt to get a better look at the wound.

He tried not to flinch at the chill Allen's flesh seemed to hold, the paleness of the skin, and small trickle of blood, but ripped up the already-bloody shirt to use as bandaging for the wound.

"The dragon got most of the venom out." Link commented, shuffling over, hugging himself tightly to keep himself standing straight. "Walker should be fine, I think."

"You think?" Lavi glanced over his shoulder from his work. "Since when were you a medic?"

The inspector ignored him. "Get out of the apprentice Bookman's way brats."

Mark picked Val up carefully in his arms, as she didn't seem strong enough to hold onto his back anymore. Mark carefully moved her and himself five feet away before setting her down again and, crossing his arms, watched the operations go on.

Lavi wondered where they had come from, but quickly slipped out the med box he had brought and used some of the cleaner bandages inside before covering them with a layer of cloth from the exorcist's shirt.

He tried not to look panicked, but he knew Allen would need real medical attention faster then the dragon's could fly him there.

"Hey Yuu-chan! Think you can finish wrap-up Allen while I make sure Two-pimple-kun doesn't pass out?"

"Che." Kanda understood very well that they were on a crunch for time, and grabbed the fabric from Lavi.

"That's the spirit!" Lavi grabbed Howard and helped him sit down. "Come-on, Link, lets get those cuts closed up!"

Lavi examined the long gash from shoulder to rib that was almost a full inch in width that bled far more profusely than any other of the cuts on his back.

"Well, you may want to look away Link, I don't have any aesthetics. This may sting a little--"

Pulling out a stapler from his handy-dandy first aid kit, he almost started before giving Link a gag.

"Oh! Almost slipped my mind! Howard, chew on his will ya?" Lavi quickly handed Link the small leather strap he normally used to hold his innocence hammer, but since it wasn't in service at the moment, it wound be used for the greater good, and to make sure Link didn't break his teeth.

"Now, get ready--"

Lavi tried to staple the inspector's back together quickly, but it wasn't easy. His gloves kept slipping in the blood as he tried to hold the skin together.

The gash was a long one, but luckily it was the only one on the inspector's back that was life threatening, and Lavi was fairly practiced in these things, and he was quickly done and pulled his strap back out of Link's mouth.

"There, that will hold until we get to a hospital."

"..." Link looked like he would rather not talk at the moment.

Smudge stretched he head over them and asked Kanda, "Is Mr. Allen going to be all right?"

The samurai had finished bandaging the wound and nodded at the beast absentmindedly while hefting the bean-sprout up and over his shoulder like a sack and told Smudge to lean down.

Then Lavi got an idea. "Wait!" He called over, stopping Kanda just as he was about to climb up.

"What?" He wasn't the best of moods.

"The Ark's still connected to the Asian Branch, right?"

Kanda got the idea almost instantly, and ran over to Link and tossed the injured inspector over his other shoulder.

Link squawked and objected, but Kanda ignored him, lugging the two out of the room and away out of sight. Lavi was pleased with the double time, but puzzled over what to do with the dragons ...

It was then he noticed the kids again. A boy and girl, both with a sandy-yellow hair coloring, but the girl didn't look to be in good shape--

"Who _are_ you two?" He asked. And man, it was one confusing answer ...

END 6.

**AN**: Well ... we've finally caught up to the 'present.' (Insert giant sigh of relief here)

Time to give you all some answers that you deserve for sticking with me for so long and through so much. The next chapter give more **facts** than the last few have, and (as I hope you all noticed with this chapter) I'm trying to make them a **bit** longer.

(This was TWICE as long as anything else I've written, so be HAPPY!)

And the next chapter features the Asian Branch, so you all might want to look at exactly what everyone looks like from there (and what their names are, because they all sound/look similar darn it! It's a writer nightmare I tell u!).

Ugh ... I'll get back to my homework now ... but before I go ... (gabs microphone)

**REVIEW PLEEEEEEEEESE!!** Just once? For me? U all did so well the first few chapters, but now only a few go to the trouble to do so anymore ... don't u all love Gremlin? And Speck? And Smudge? They have to live off of these reviews darn it, I can't buy cows!

Review for the poor starving dragons people! Review for the DRAGONS!

-knux33


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

7.

**(AN**: I know Lo and Li (Lo-Fwa and Li-Kei as I am writing) shouldn't have their first and last names connected like that, but I think because several Asian Branch characters first names sound alike (Li, Lo, Fo) that it will help for the readers to differentiate the characters to have them written this way. I'm also guessing a bit on the spelling, but that's only because the English translators won't make up their minds. Thank-you for your tolerance.**) **

Lo-Fwa, young female scientist of the Asia Branch, recognized by her obvious lack of height, thick glasses, and braided pigtails, sighed dreamily for the seventh time that hour. Obviously, a familiar white-haired exorcist was on her mind.

Li-Kei, tall, spiky-haired male of the same branch, tried not to sigh with her, but looked longingly at his unfinished equations as if they were a beautiful woman smiling at him instead. Then he did give a longing groan: a female, Chinese exorcist with a protective brother lingering in his thoughts.

Shifu, shorter than Li-Kei but taller than Lo-Fwa, tried not to glare at both of the love-struck nit-wits. True, he was not one for glaring at his friends daydreams of certain Headquarters-stationed exorcists, but after _three straight months_ of having only one-third of the group (as Li-Kie, Lo-Fwa, and Shifu tended to work together on all of their assignments) working, they were hardly getting anywhere at all.

And poor Shifu was very sick of being so behind. He was ready to do some serious work and get far in the rankings, but his friends seemed to be to caught up in their little fantasies that they didn't realize that if they worked hard enough, they may be able to be station at the new Headquarters!

He laid his head on his desk and sternly told himself _not_ to feel like an ignored puppy. His thoughts began to drift and he let himself enjoy the coolness of the desk pressing against his face ...

... every thought became a bit unreal ...

-**zzZZzz**-

Because of the resent invasion it was obvious they were going to be looking for new staff to fill in all of the now open spaces. They would need new fresh minds, and Shifu wanted to be one of the ones lucky enough to be able to work with the level of technology being at Headquarters would offer.

And he decided if he didn't point it out, the other two would probably realize it. So, getting up and snapping his pencil down to get the other's attention on_ this_ planet, he took a breath and said in the calm, quiet way he usually did, "They ... might be looking for new scientists for the new Headquarters ... you know."

The reaction was so instantaneous and so wonderful Shifu wondered why he hadn't pointed it out days ago. They actually _looked_ at him, blinked, and--

_Worked._ They looked at the equations and solved them, thought about the word problems, and oh happy day! They finished every scrap of paper, and--

-**zzZZ-**Wha?**-zz**-

Something was poking him annoyingly in the shoulder. Shifu blinked and woke up from his dream, feeling like he could just cry right there. The two hadn't woken up, he had just fallen asleep!

Wong, assistant director, smiled kindly and informed him that it would be best for him to head to bed _before_ he dropped in the future. Shifu thanked him and stretched his sore shoulders and neck. The older man was very nice, even if he tended to obsess over Bak-san's well-being like a butler more than a assistant.

Oh well, looks like Lo-Fwa and Li-Kei left him asleep on his desk again. He really should tell them about the possibility of getting to work at the new Headquarters. Maybe his dream would come true ...

So Shifu sighed, neatly stacked the papers on his desk into two piles (finished and unfinished) and looked at the clock. Only ten o'clock? Most of the staff would either be in bed or in their workrooms, or sleeping in their workrooms like Shifu had been caught at doing.

Shifu watched as Wong went along his merry way, probably to help the branch director with a scheme or another to find out where the new Headquarters was exactly. Bak had seemed really agitated lately.

Deciding bed would be a good idea, Shifu ran his fingers through his flat, black, bowl-cut hair and stood up from his desk and left to room, but not before looking sadly back at his friend's unfinished workload.

Sighing, he walked down the hallway, footsteps echoing slightly. The Asia Branch was not as large vertically as the old Headquarters had been, but it was massive horizontally, and just as easy to get lost in.

There were a few others wandering the hallways, it wasn't very late, and Shifu caught a glimpse of Bak dashing off somewhere, Wong right behind him with a clipboard in hand. He distinctly heard something that sounded like, "--their somewhere in the English Channel, and heading--"

He wondered what had the two in such a hurry, before deciding that he had been working too many late shifts and needed to get some sleep at the proper hour before he became a night owl, like some other scientists tended to do when living in a place with next to no windows, underground.

It was then he broke down and sighed. Maybe, if he got a job at the new Headquarters, they would have some nice, big windows, then telling the time of day wouldn't be such a chore, like it was here ...

**/DRDRDR/**

Yuu Kanda was agitated. _Very _agitated. He had walked down the near-unending steps of the old Headquarters, went through the ark, and walk out to the Asia Branch to find--

No one. Not a single, solitary soul. And he had a bleeding Link over one shoulder and bean-sprout over the other.

Link was gritting his teeth, obviously trying not to cry out with every step Kanda took, the staples holding his skin together and blood inside his body had put him in an obvious state of pain, and Allen's bandages were showing signs of blood beginning to seep through.

And just when Kanda was going to put Howard down (to save him some unneeded pain) and run bean-sprout to where-ever-the-hell-the-infirmary was, when a sleepy-looking black-haired scientist walked by the lab.

"_Oi_!" Kanda yelling to get the _baka's_ attention.

It sure got it. The samurai could of sworn the guy jumped at least a foot off of the ground before noticing who called him. "Y-yes?" Shifu stuttered, taken completely off-guard.

"Where the _hell_ is the infirmary?" No, Kanda didn't care if he was over-due for his normal eight hours of shut eye.

"U-uh ... three point twenty yards east, t-then t-turn right and g-go fifteen--"Shifu began, very much scared of the mad Japanese man, and hoping he wasn't about to be slaughtered.

"_Where is the infirmary_?" That was clearly Kanda for, 'Lead me there you _baka_.'

-Gulp- "Follow m-me," So Shifu ran, and Kanda followed.

Admit it, if you were half-asleep, being confronted by a very threatening and very clearly angry exorcist would have scared you witless too.

And with a large sword and two bodies slung over his shoulders that looked dead except for the fact that one was bleeding from an ugly looking wound on his back and the other was--

Wait ... was that--?

Shifu stopped so abruptly that Kanda almost ran right into him. "_Allen_?"

His abrupt halt and gapping mouth earned him the I-am-this-close-to-_cutting_-you glare.

"I-infirmary, right." Turn, and march.

It didn't take them long. Shifu quickly found the nurse (it was required for one to be on duty at all times) working at the moment and she called the rest of the sleeping staff down quickly. In moment Allen and Link were out of Kanda's hands, and he was told politely by a staff member that he was to wait outside and was shoved with Shifu out the door.

The scientist smiled nervously and said he was going now. Kanda 'ched' and said down in on of the uncomfortable chairs they kept in the waiting room along with all of the outdated newspapers. (I don't think magazines were around back then.)

Shifu shuffled away, and was then speeding down the wide hallway back to his room that he shared with Li-Kei. Bursting inside, he found his spiky haired friend looking at a picture in a book.

The picture did not belong in that book. Shifu knew for a fact that Li-Kei hated science-fiction, would never willingly read H.G. Wells' book, 'The Island of Dr. Moreu', and that he kept a photo of Lenalee on page 70. Though Shifu didn't know where the heck he had got it from.

(Li-Kei secretly swiped one picture of Lenalee from Bak, but Shifu doesn't know that.)

The taller teen snapped the book shut when he noticed Shifu was staring. "Oh, hi! Wait, we didn't leave you in the lab again, did we?"

"Never mind that!" Shifu quickly told him. Li-Kei seemed relieved at this, and still hadn't noticed his friends urgent expression.

"Thank goodness, I though you were going to get all mad at us again--"

"_Allen's_ here you _pin-head_!"

"Aw Shif, you shouldn't resort to name calling, and--" Blink. A sort-of dazed expression came to the scientist's face.

It took a second for the information to stick to his love-sick brain, Shifu noticed.

"Allen?"

"Walker."

"He's here? Why? I though Headquarters was still being moved?" He looked hopeful for a second and asked, "A-anyone else come?"

"One person I haven't seen before, and Kanda, if I'm recalling the name correctly." _And he's a very scary samurai when angry; I must make note of that ..._

Li-Kei slumped back into his bed. "Oh." He smiled a bit though and added, "Lo-Fwa's going to go _nuts_. Hey!" He jumped up, disappointment forgotten. The shorter male ignored him.

Shifu felt very drained now, the jolt from the small rush of adrenalin and excitement wearing off and making him more tired than ever. He was stumbling over to his bed when Li-Kei grabbed him. "Come on! We've got to tell her!"

"Wait--" _Bed. Sweet bed. _

"It'll just take a sec Shif!"

"But I've been missing out on sleep and--" _Wonderful bed._

"What's sleep to friendship? Come on Shifu!"

_Come back bed. _

The bed was gone and he was running through the electronically-lit hallways yet again before he could begin to protest, and by then it was far too late.

_Maybe, if I worked at Headquarters, I would get to see my bed more often ... _Shifu thought hopefully before being pulled to the wing where the female scientists had their rooms.

In his own way, Shifu was smitten with a more hopeless dream than either Li-Kei or Lo-Fwa combined. But, he doesn't need to know that.

**/DRDRDR/**

Lavi slipped through the entrance to the ark, and the child on his back looked around in awe. "What is this place?" She asked him softly, voice weak at the moment.

"The Ark. Have you ever heard the story about Noah and the flood?"

"This is _Noah's_ Ark? But wasn't it supposed to be ... more like a ... boat?"

Lavi laughed, "Yeah, I thought so too. But this thing works even better."

There was a small silence, Val looking at the bleached-white buildings and strange doors.

"Are you sure you gave Mark good directions?" She asked, worried about her sibling traveling the longer way to their destination. "Because he's really not that good at finding places. Especially if the distance between him and that place is more than a couple of _blocks_."

"I wouldn't worry. With so many eyes looking for one place, one of them is bound to find it."

She sighed, relived on that point. "But where do all these doors go?"

"Well, most of them go nowhere."

The small girl scoffed. "That sure makes a whole lot of sense."

Lavi blinked, this girl reminded him of a certain dragon ... "Well, they can go anywhere. If connected anyway."

"Everywhere and nowhere ... and that is supposed to make what sort of sense?"

"Here we are," Lavi spotted the door with a clearly labeled **-2-** above it, (and a small sticky note with the word 'Asia' on it)and whipped it open to the lab room the Ark was connected to.

Val wasn't very impressed. "This place looks exactly the same."

Lavi had to admit, the labs did look remarkably alike sometimes, even in different Branches. "Well, were are more or less a few hundred miles away from our last location. And," Lavi quickly did the math in his head. "There's about a nine to ten hour difference in time."

Val groaned. "What time is it? Here?"

Lavi thought for a moment. "Probably around ten at night."

She buried her head in his shoulder with a defeated sound. "But it was _noon_ where _we_ were."

Lavi noticed her temperature wasn't that high, but from the information he had gotten from the kids she had been sick with it for far too long, which is why he was going through the trouble to bring her with him and send her brother on the long way.

The only reason he hadn't kept the boy, Mark, with him was mainly because he wanted the dragon's to have some human supervision on their 'field trip,' and – well ... he also wanted to see if the two's stories differed in any way.

Right now he was working out the two stories, belonging to both the kids and Speck versus what Isaac had told them, and he was a little confused on who's story could possibly be the fake.

Neither story had any solid evidence, besides the fact that Speck had the children speaking for him and acting as 'witnesses,' while Isaac was only speaking for himself.

But he didn't know these kids, or what type of people they were, and he didn't know the gray dragon at all. Though not much more could be said for the quiet Isaac.

So, either way, he was going to have to get Allen to verify one story over the other.

Lavi made his way to the hallway, looking for someone to get directions from. The girl wasn't _very_ sick, but from the length of time she'd had the fever, it could be signs of a bad illness lying under the surface, or even something more--

But at that point in his thoughts, the red-head spotted a small group of familiar looking scientists ... and wasn't that girl the one with a crush on Allen, Lo-Fwa?

He waved at them to get their attention, and two ran over enthusiastically, the last one of the group trailed sleepily behind the two in front. He looked a little like Reever did after a few days of overtime work.

"Where's the infirmary?" He asked quickly, noticing the short girl taking a large gulping breath for a question of her own.

She seemed to freeze at the climax of intake, the deflated with a breathy: "Where's Allen?"

Lavi blinked, wondering if he should give away the fact that he didn't know exactly at the moment.

Val took over with an obnoxiousness exclamation of: "Hey! He asked you 'where's the infirmary,' not, 'what's up.'"

Lo-Fwa glared at the 'monkey' on Lavi's back. Li-Kei quickly intervened with the polite explanation of, "Shifu said he saw Allen, and Lo-Fwa is just a bit excited. We'll escort you to the infirmary ourselves."

Lo-Fwa looked miffed at her tall friend, eye's narrowed. Shifu finally made it over, looking sadly from Li-Kei's smile-plastered face to Lo-Fwa's angry one, and then glanced at Lavi. Recognition flashed in his eyes.

"Lavi ... right?" He asked, sounding half-here and half-gone.

"Yeah."

"Allen's ... at the ..." He took a slow breath, glanced at Lo-Fwa, and Lavi wondered if the guy was going to fall asleep standing. "... infirmary."

Lo-Fwa yelled, "Why didn't you say so!" ,and was off like a owl after a mouse; Li-Kei shrugged sadly at Lavi.

"Well, as you can guess, the infirmary is _that_ way ..."

"Yeah ..." Lavi laughed, "Let's follow the path of destruction."

Shifu, though, did an about-face and marched back the way he came. Li-Kei looked like he was about to call him back before shrugging again.

"Ah, he's seen Allen already anyway--" The tall teen with spiky brown hair dismissed his friend's behavior. "--and he did mention something about not getting enough sleep. Eh, Shifu works too much ..."

And so Lavi and Val were escorted to the infirmary, and when they got there--

"Oh! What a cuttie-pie!" Val was immediately attacked, captured against her will, and put under meds to bring her fever down while the doctors did a screening of her blood.

"Help! _Help_! I'm being_ needled_!!" Came the screaming out of the infirmary's doors soon after she was 'abducted.'

"Hmm ... I don't think she likes needles Yuu-Chan." Lavi commented from an uncomfortable hospital chair.

"Don't. Call. Me. That." Was the growled reply from Yuu Kanda.

"But I want to see Allen!" Lo-Fwa whined at the nursing staff currently blocking the door. "Please? Just to say hi--"

That was when the door was shut in her face and one nurse kindly guided her to a seat. Then the woman cheerfully took a position in front of the closed door, further blocking any unwanted entry.

So, the two exorcists and equal number of scientists sat in silence. Sort of.

"Hey Yuu, what do you think happened to Allen?" Lavi asked as he fiddled with an outdated newspaper.

Kanda glared.

"I mean, he was attacked, but left in one piece. Normally exorcists are left in more pieces than a puzzle, but Allen was relatively 'ok.' So, what would attack Allen and Link without killing either? It doesn't make much sense when you really think about it--"

"Quiet, idiot rabbit."

"--and it had venom, whatever it was." Apparently, Lavi didn't want to be quiet until he had said what was on his mind.

"Do you have a death wish?"

"No, but I do wish we had more information ..." Lavi placed the newspaper back on the table by his chair and gazed hopefully at a bleached white wall, as if it could give him the answers he wanted. His green eye seemed unfocused in its thoughts. "Like _why_."

Li-Kei had been listening closely to Lavi's babble, ignoring Lo-Fwa's glaring at the guard-nurse. "Why what?" The tall boy asked.

Kanda looked like he wanted to cut the scientist in half for provoking the response, but kept to his chair and only attacked with a glare. Making the nurses mad over a bloody mess in the middle of their waiting room wouldn't be worth it.

"Why everything. Why did the innocence change? Why are the akuma so weak lately? Why does it look like _we could win this war_?"

Silence greeted the earth shattering statement. Lavi laughed at himself, lightening the atmosphere. "Or course, thats only what it _looks_ like."

"_Baka usagi_, shut up. You're giving me a headache." Kanda growled again, and this time Lavi stayed silent.

The Bookman apprentice fiddled with his headband. Lo-Fwa pouted at the nurse. Li-Kei dung some earwax out of his ear. Kanda brought Mugen to his lap and fingered with it, unsheathing the sword to see the light dance across it's gleaming surface.

Time passed. Nothing much happened besides Lavi's usual game of teasing Yuu every once and a while and Kanda threatening to cut him to pieces, and Lo-Fwa's whining at Li-Kei.

After about an hour Lavi pulled out his golem and walked asked Li-Kei if they had any phones nearby.

"There's probably some in the main office, down the hall to the right, but who are you going to call?"

"Komui and everyone else, I think they would like to know where we are and who we've found." Lavi happily strolled out of the room.

For some strange and impeccable reason (Instinct?), Li-Kei felt less safe. Maybe the reason was the fact that Lo-Fwa was being as obnoxious as ever, and Kanda had a small look of agitation on his face.

The silence seemed to drag like a large and rough object: slowly and in jerks. Time would skip and then go slower, skip and slow, between dozing minutes and sharp cruel seconds.

And then Bak walked in ... or ran in, to put it more accurately, stopping the strange time phenomena that happens so often when waiting. With a skid, he came to a halt smoothly in from of the nurse blocking the door.

Well, he would have if Wong hadn't being running just as fast behind him, and collided into the short golden-blonde's back, causing Bak to be sandwiched right into the poor woman.

Several halls down, Lavi heard an exclamation, a slap, a 'Bak-samaaa!', and grinned before dialing Komui's number.

**/DRDRDR/**

"LENALEEEE!!" There really is no need to identify that distressed voice calling across the ship deck, now is there?

Lenalee Lee paused for a moment as her brother attached himself to her hips. "Don't gooooo!"

"Sister stay!" Gremlin whined from his head, apparently acting as Komui's new hat until a replacement was found. "No-go, Sister!"

"Brother ..." She childed him. "I'm just going to the Asian Branch--"

"You're eloping with Bak aren't you?!" He cried, pulling up every possible excuse to make her stay, including embarrassment. "I never should of told you he sent those flowers!" He wailed, with extra drama.

"Bak-san is barely a_ friend_, and you know that!"

"Then why are you going away?!" Komui sniffed. "Lavi and Kanda can take care of Allen--"

"But I want to be there for him." A steely look came into her violet eyes, causing Gremlin to blink and whisper into Komui's ear, "I think Sister wants to visit Allen, Brother."

Komui sniffed, tears water falling shamelessly down his face, causing several sailors to turn away in disgust at the obvious man-begging. "But--"

Lenalee cut him off with a sigh.

Gremlin whined. "Why Sister go?"

"Brother ..." Lenalee smiled lightly at the green dragon. "Gremlin ..."

Then her smile widen and she hugged Komui tightly. "I love you both!"

Komui blinked in shock and Gremlin_ prumm_ed, beaming happiness.

She grabbed the bag she had packed and called over to both Miranda and Krory sitting on Sunny in the water, "Are you two ready?"

Krory looked nervous. "As we're ever going to be."

"Oh, don't worry," Sunny reassured him, her frill resting along her neck, ears perked. "They cannot berate us for looking in on a sick friend. We must see how he and the Link-thing are doing."

Miranda gapped. "Sunny! Link may be scary, but he is not a thing!"

Sunny shrugged, almost unseating the two sitting on her shoulder accidentally. "He does not behave as you all do. And those two--" she gestured in Komui and Gremlin's direction, "--called him some sort of creature called a 'boring-human.' And that his 'temper' was ill?"

Lenalee laughed and activated her boots, lifting easily off of the boat. She wore tight leather pants and a long-sleeved jacket to protect her body from the friction flying at high speeds caused.

"Lenalee!" Komui called one last time, "If you lose your purity by the next time I see you I'm going to have Gremlin melt Bak like he did my Komurin DS!"

"Bye-Bye Sister Li-a-Lee-Lee!" Gremlin squeaked. "Me bite Bak good for purity! Remember, make Boring ill-temper Human less ill!"

"Yes! Start operation M.I.L.L.C.!!"

"Ok Brother!" Lenalee said, calling back a few last good byes as she took to the air, Sunny following soon after.

"Milk?" Miranda asked Lenalee over the wind, having not been listening to the two plotting for the last few hours.

"It's operation M-I-L-L-C. 'Make-Irritable-Link-Less-Crabby.'" She couldn't help laughing, just thinking about it. "They thought it up when Gremlin realized they could spell something meaningful with the first letter of each word."

"So, how are you going to make Link less crabby?" Krory asked, "It's not like he's easy to talk to."

"I don't plan on doing anything." Lenalee informed them. "We're going to see Allen, not Howard."

"But aren't they both hurt? They'll probably be kept in the same room." Miranda pointed out.

"We might as well help them both get 'well' at the same time." Krory said. "It's not like we will have anything else to occupy are time when we get there."

Sunny nodded her agreement. But then asked worriedly, "Well, when you all are having fun un-illing the Boring Human and Allen, what am I supposed to do? Is there anything to see there?"

"Well," Lenalee told her face to face (as she was practicing flying about in her Dark Boots), "If I remember correctly, the entrance and ground floor of the Asian Branch are very wide, along with the main hallway. And, if there just wide enough, you may be able to go look around a little inside."

Sunny looked very happy at this news. "I will be able to go inside! Oh, wonderful! I will get to see the inside humans, the walls, the halls, the rooms, the things inside rooms, the people inside rooms, and--"

**/DRDRDR/**

"Are we there yet?" Mark asked Speck.

"Not there." Speck answered sadly, then added in a small whimpering whisper, "Speck miss Allen."

"I miss him too." Mark told the little gray beast. "And Val."

"And girl." Speck agreed.

"Stop with the moaning over there!" Ammy (Mark and Speck had to call her Amaterasu) ordered them. "You both are being obnoxious."

"Yes, stop it. I have had to go without Allen for longer than you both." Isaac said grumpily.

Speck growled at this and pulled his lips back to show his fangs.

"Please stop fighting, all of you!" Smudge, the head of this small flight of dragons, yelled forlornly at the sky. "The faster we get there, the faster we will all be with our chosen again."

"Allen is my chosen." Isaac muttered.

"Allen mine!" Speck snapped.

Snarl.

Growl.

"Are we there yet?" The all-but-forgotten-human asked.

"No," Smudge said with a sigh.

"If the gray _Speck_ could fly _faster_--" Ammy muttered, disliking the distance between her and Lavi as all the others did, and extra irritable because of it.

"Well he can't." Smudge said smartly.

"Maybe we could fly ahead ...?" Isaac asked.

"We are not leaving Speck behind!" The black beast was shock at the white one's suggestion.

"But--" Ammy began, liking the idea.

"No 'buts!'" Smudge yelled at the two of them. "We are going low and slow if Speck needs us to! And if either of you suggest something so _vile_ again I will _tear_ your _snakes_ wings _off_ and leave _you_ to catch up!!" Smudge tone was so uncharacteristically dark and threatening at the end of his statement, that neither dared to question the truth of the punishment and shut their yaps good and tight.

Even Speck was a little scared of the largest of the group now.

Mark didn't dare let the question 'Are we there yet?' leave his lips, least the dragon decide to tare off his legs for being an annoyance.

The trip was very quiet for the next few hours ...

**/DRDRDR/**

_Needles. They had stuck me with_ needles. Val shivered, telling herself not to look at the tube going _into_ her arm. She was never going to go off with strangers _again_. She didn't even know where Speck and Mark were, or if they were really coming.

For all she knew the bigger dragons could have eaten them both--

She heard the man with long braided hair yelp was the nurses poked, prodded, and disinfected the wounds on his back. She didn't feel to bad for him, he had called her brother her 'brats.'

But she did worry for Allen.

She could see through the thin screen they had put up between their beds that they were sowing his shoulder up, and re-bandaging the wound. They also had several heated blankets draped over him, trying to get his body temperature back up.

It was weird watching as a needle went in and out of his skin as they sowed him up like fabric--

Val tried, _very_ hard, not to be sick just thinking about it.

"How are you doing sweetie?" A nurse asked. Val could of sworn it was the same one that had called her 'cuttie-pie' before, and tried not to say anything ... nasty.

"Fine." She said shortly, trying to think none-needle thoughts. "How's Allen doing?"

"Well sweetie," The nurse said, checking her I.V. Drip and pressed her hand against Val's forehead. "We're doing are best."

Val blinked. That didn't tell her squat! 'Doing your best?' _Well, is your_ 'best' _good enough you-- you--_

"Is he going to be ok?" _And if you don't give me a straight answer I'm going to get the hell out of this needle-infested place the second you take your eyes off of me ..._

The nurse smiled a small, comforting smile. "He's not going to die, if that's what you're asking sweetie. He'll be fine soon."

Val glared, but at least it was a straight answer. Sort-of. The girl decided she could stand to be poked and needled a little while longer, just to make sure they didn't pull a fast one.

_Someone_ had to look out for that directionally challenged teenager.

END 7.

* * *

**AN:** Thank you all for all of the wonderful reviews. The dragons were full, I was happy, and I also saw the newest chapter of D.Gray.

Good week.

Anyway, just a side note about the book mentioned about mid-way through the chapter, by H. G. Wells. He is an amazing author and, though his work has no dragons, the novel I mentioned above does talk about a **Gray Man** at one point. I spazed, and told myself it is going into my fanfic one way or another, so here it is. Ha. It WILL be a fanfic cross-over one day, just not today ...

For those of you wondering when you'll see something I myself was proud of writing, (believe me, we all have to write the 'hard/filling' stuff before getting to something that makes us 'happy.' Like eating the full meal before getting the cake) it is at the beginning of the next chapter.

I actually wrote beginning of the next chapter after reading ch 166 of D.Gray, even though I hadn't even finished this one yet ... hehe ... I love the 14th for no apparent reason ... really, I do.

Hoping you all enjoyed this chapter, and that we are blessed with a good chapter 172 of the REAL D.Gray-Man,

-knux33

Unintentional Omake:

Gremlin: Is silly-human gone?

Smudge: Yes, yes, I think she is.

(Sneaking in)

Gremlin: (Grabs keyboard) Yes, NOW we will write about dragons!

Smudge: (Nervously, same size as Gremlin in Omake) Should we really be doing this? It seems very wrong...

Gremlin: Yesyes! She talk about TheGrayMen humans too much!

Smudge: But aren't they the main characters?

Gremlin: (Miniature Komui) Not anymooore! (Begins typing on blank word document)

Smudge: (Noses about scattered papers and books around the room) Knux33 really does have a messy room ... (Picks one paper up) Really, look at this mess-- (Jaw drops)

Gremlin: (Stops with horribly misspelled typing) What? Whatwhat?

Smudge: (Awed) It's the plot-line for our story ...

Gremlin: (Grabs it) What's it say? (Reads, jaw drops) No ...

Knux33: (Enters, looks shocked) No! (snatches paper) What are you two doing!!

Smudge/Gremlin: How could you do that?!

Knux33: (Blinks confusedly) What? The mess? I have to much homework and writing obligations to clean--

Gremlin: (Angry) The_ plot_ silly-person! OUR plot! How could yo do that!!

Knux33: Do what? (Looks at paper) Oh ... that ... uh ... (Smiles nervously) You weren't supposed to see that ...

Smudge: (Tearfully) We thought you loved us!

Gremlin: Yeah! What he said!

Knux33: (rolls eyes) Look, this is my REVISED plot line ... (Grabs crumbled mess from backpack) I make it during lunch and Math class ...

Smudge/Gremlin: (Reading)

Knux33: That's how I'm doing it.

Smudge: (Sad) It's still not very nice.

Gremlin: (Looks sadly at Knux33) Do you HAVE to do it?

Knux33: It's that or end this in the next few chapters without doing half as much as I want too. (Sniffs) And I still have to type/write it.

Smudge: (Tears) And we have to act it ...

Gremlin: (Sobbing) And two reviewers have asked for this to be Yullen! What does that even _mean_!?

All: What shalt we do?! (All cry)

End Silly Omake

Made on a weird Monday. Don't ask, just **REVIEW PLEASE**.


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

**AN**: Here is where (roughly) everyone is placed in the infirmary. (It looked cooler in the original word document)

-Door-

**(L)** **(V)**

_ **--** _ **_--_**

**( )** **(A)**

L-Link

A-Allen

V-Val

**_--_** - screens

8.

Machinery beeped. The bleeding and fevered slept, a healing and deep sleep. But the one whose blood had been chilled and body invaded by venom didn't sleep ... Allen Walker _dreamed_.

**/DRDRDR/**Dream

Allen wandered. Dirt eased in warmly between his toes, and he wondered with a vague feeling of curiosity here his shoes had gone. But the emotion was dull and unfocused, like the scenery around him. Trees enclosed him all around, and the warming sun was blocked from view, the warm dirt becoming cool mud that began to layer his feet.

Ripe fruit hung from all of the plants, but Allen was strangely uninterested in the free meal. His feet kept walking, while his mind moved sluggishly to form a coherent thought.

_Where am I?_

As soon as the question appeared in his mind the trees and mud disappeared. He was no longer wandering through a forest, but in a clearing. In the center, there was an apple tree. But the apples weren't red, or green, or yellow, but--

_Silver?_

As he walked closer, he saw that the leaves and bark of the tree were seemingly solid gold, the silver fruit hanging like Christmas ornaments on the branches.

"Do you want one?" A voice asked from behind the tree. Allen flinched in surprise as a creature the size of a large dog slid into view, seemingly coming out of thin air, and walking on all fours.

It was a dragon.

Scales shining with rainbows of changing color, and wings folded neatly against it's back, the serpent asked again, "Do you want one?"

"What are they?" Allen asked, unable to take his eyes off of the strange dragon. His voice sounded strange to his own ears, hoarse and rough compared to the dragon's sleek, and oiled speech.

"Knowledge." The dragon replied, eyes looking remarkably black and white compared to the shifting color of it's skin and scales. "Of Good and Evil. Do you want one?"

Allen knew all this sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd heard it all before. Was it a story or something he'd heard once?

"Why would I want one?" Allen asked, hoping to learn more.

"Because," The dragon said, color swirling in dizzying patterns, "If you do not know which is good and which is evil, how can you properly _choose_?"

"Choose?" Allen asked, glancing at the fruit hanging above.

"Choose Good or Evil of course."

"Why would I have to choose?" Allen was growing suspicious of the grinning creature in front of him. A very large part of him felt not to trust the serpent, but a small piece was still curious of what it was talking about.

"Because!" The rainbow-colored beast exclaimed, "The world is full if both! If you do not learn one from the other, how are you to appease God's wish?"

"God's ... wish?"

"Yes." The reptilian head bowed reverently. "It is His wish for man-kind, those created in His image, to choose right. To choose Good over Evil. God over devil."

"But ..." Allen looked doubtfully above. "... I'm not supposed to eat the fruit on this tree. It's forbidden." The boy didn't know where this knowledge came from, only that it was true. "God said so himself. I'll die if I eat it."

The dragon's eyes narrowed. "That was a test to see if man can truly choose for himself. To become something more than an obedient _pet_. To explore and challenge the world He created." Those eyes now burned scornfully. "And you seen to be failing His test. How sad."

"What?"

"The test. To choose?" The dragon stood on its hind legs and crossed it's armored arms. "You're not very bright, are you?"

"Where am I?" Allen was getting very annoyed at this thing, and this place. His eyes couldn't focus on anything besides the dragon, and the tree. The rest of the landscape shifted and blurred alarmingly before his eyes, like a melting painting.

"The Garden of course." The dragon looked surprised. "You've been here enough times to know."

"I have?"

The creature was grinning again, it's teeth were sharp and jagged, made for tearing meat. "Of course. You only ate from the other tree the first time though."

"Other--?" Allen cut off, slack jawed as another tree popped up behind him, bark deep brown and leaves a healthy green, perfectly average compared to everything else. But it's fruit wasn't normal. It was pure gold.

"The tree of life. All of your kind were given fruit from this tree the first time."

"My kind?"

The dragon seemed to delight in this game, giving tidbits while the real meal was still to come. "The descendants of Noah, good sir. You are the Fourteenth, if I am not mistaken."

Allen returned his gaze the reptile. "You_ are_ mistaken."

"Oh?" The dragon looked delighted at this. "Are you sure? You have not eaten yet."

"I'm not going to."

"Just a bite?"

"No."

"But you've done it so many times before!" It exclaimed, obviously faking confusion. "And your family, I'm sure, is missing you dearly."

Allen blinked, remembering something. "Where is everyone?" He gazed about the shifting clearing, as if what he was looking for could be found there.

"Your family?"

"Yes."

"Probably with the Earl, and you could easily join them if you just take a bite. Here," An apple broke off of the tree and fell into the serpents waiting claws. It offered the fruit to Allen.

"I'm taking about my _family_, not the Noah."

"But they are your family Allen."

"No, they're not."

"They were the last hundred times I've seen you."

Allen turned back to the dragon, mouth gapping again. "_Hundred_?"

The black/white eyes gleamed and Allen realized his mistake. The apple sat in the dragons hand, the silver of it's skin shining brightly in the light.

It looked ... tempting.

"A bite?" The dragon offered, its voice a soft purr.

Allen shook his head violently, not trusting himself to open his mouth.

"All the knowledge of who you are is in this," The dragon said simply, "Lifetimes of learning the Good and Evil of the world. Isn't that what most people can only dream for? Wish for? _Die _for?"

"I don't want it." Allen hoped the creature couldn't hear the pounding of his heart.

"Yes you do." It had seen right through the lie. "You want to find yourself ... very badly."

"I know who I am."

"Yes, but you don't know who you _were_." The dragon lifted the silver apple closer to the boys lips. "And who you are doomed to be, again and again, until time stops."

Allen took the apple, hands shaking but still gripping the fruit tightly. Something alien, but familiar, was moving his hands without his consent. Just like in the Fourteen's room ...

The dragon's grin grew impossibly wide. "But aren't you supposed to destroy that?"

Allen took a bite and the garden and serpent fell away, only to leave him in darkness as the sweet, coppery taste of metal and blood filled his mouth.

**/DRDRDR/**

And he awoke shivering and confused, blinking at the dark room he found himself in. Slowly, the feeling of the real world returned and all thoughts of dream faded into the reality he found around him.

He was covered in warm blankets, but he was covered in a cold sweat that refused to let his body properly warm. On the other side of the bleach-white room he saw a person laying on their belly, a familiar braided golden hair peaking above the sheets.

What was Link doing in an infirmary? Better yet, why was _he_ in an infirmary?

Trying to move, Allen realized his right shoulder was bandaged. _How did I_--

That brought it back.

Headquarters being empty, an akuma, no one there ...

Allen took a better look around, surprised that the room looked familiar. If he didn't know better, he'd say he was in the Asian Branch ...

"Allen?" A small, female voice whispered. Allen looked around, trying to pinpoint the source of it. "Allen, are you awake?"

"Val?" So she was here to? That was good, it was about time she got looked over by someone that could bring her fever down. "Yeah, I'm awake. What happened?"

"I should be asking _you_ that!" She exclaimed, before hastily clamping a hand over her own mouth.

Allen moved a bit, trying to see the girl through the screen that separated their beds. Rapidly, almost giving him vertigo, the world was clear as crystal, and black with white, and he could see Val as easily through the screen as if it wasn't there at all.

Which, to his cursed eye, it wasn't.

"Well," Allen began after becoming more oriented, "An akuma surprised me--"

"It cut you open!" Val hissed, trying to keep her voice low but failing. "And you looked _dead_!"

Allen blinked, surprised that she had become so worried. "I'm sorry--" He began.

"Just don't do it again." Val still looked worried, even if she was trying to hide it behind a cheerful voice.

"Where's Mark?" Allen asked. He was sure the boy would be somewhere near his sister.

The blond sighed. "Somewhere between England and China by now I sure."

Allen conveyed his confusion in one sound. "Eh?"

"Well, after you passed out--"

**/DRDRDR/**

Lavi was bored. He had doodled on the sleeping scientist's faces, braided a sleeping Yuu-chan's hair, and read every single out-dated newspaper. And it was five in the morning, if the clock on the wall was correct.

Even the nurse on duty had fallen asleep, propped up and leaning against the wall. For such a small person, she had a very loud snore ...

He started making paper origami out of the newspaper, just because there was nothing better to do.

But then he heard voices coming from the infirmary's closed doors. Tiptoeing, as to not wake anyone else or alert the nurse, he placed his ear against the cold wood paneling of the door, trying to hear what was being said.

"--And the one-eyed guy carried me here--" Unmistakably the girl called Val.

Lavi sighed at being called one-eye. He could have sworn he had told the girl his name.

"--Lavi?" A voice the Bookman apprentice hadn't heard in a long time answered.

**/DRDRDR/**

"--Lavi?" Allen supplied.

"Yeah, that was his name. And he sent Mark and all the dragons on there way here, because they wouldn't of fit through the doors on the Ark-thing."

Allen thought about that for a moment. "They could fit ..."

"But the other dragons were _way_ bigger than Speck!" Val said. "And he wouldn't of been able to go through the hallways to get to the opening anyway."

"Hmm ..." Allen still thought about it. He was surprised out of his thoughts when his eye de-activated abruptly. He blinked, trying to get his human eyes to adjust to the darkness, though there wasn't much light at all to go by.

The door creaked open, and light flooded in. "Allen? Val?" A familiar voice asked.

"Hi Lavi," Allen greeted, trying to prop himself up on the flat pillows he was leaning against with little success. "Long time no see."

"Allen!" It was then that Lavi, apparently not being able to see well in the dark (or the fact that Allen was behind a screen), jumped on to Link's bed, and that in turn caused Howard to cry out in surprise, and grasp for a weapon in his sleeve that wasn't there.

"Allen!"

"GET-'the-HELLAWAY!!" Howard yelled, though the words slurred together and his movements were jerky.

"Oops," Lavi leaped away from the agitated inspector, realizing his mistake. "Sorry Two-pimple ..."

Howard groaned quietly. Apparently, any movement at all could agitate the wounds on his back, let alone a crazy exorcist deciding to jump on him. "Don't do ... it ag-' ... again ..." Either the inspector's back _really_ hurt, or he was on a monumental amount of pain killers, because he seemed to be out like a light a few seconds after the last word. The evidence suggested the latter.

Lavi looked around, eye adjusting to the darkness. "_There _you are Allen!" He exclaimed like a child finding a playmate during hide-and-seek. "What are you doing behind there?"

Allen laughed. "Trying not to get jumped on by you, I suppose."

"Eh," Lavi glanced at the apparently comatose Howard. "Good point."

"I hope you're not going to really jump on him ..." Val said, glaring.

"Hey! I've known the bean sprout longer than you have! I've got best friend jumping rights!"

Allen sweat dropped. Val continued to glare.

"Lavi ..."

"One-eye, I think you need to take your medication."

"_What_?" Lavi pouted at her. "I'll have you know that I am perfectly well."

"Not in the head ..." She mumbled.

"I heard that!" Lavi exclaimed, then complained to Allen, "How did you _stand_ her for so long?"

Allen smiled and laughed. "Lots of practice ..."

"Hey!" Val looked shocked. "Who's side are you on anyway?"

Allen looked confused. "The good one ...?"

"Ha!" Lavi said to her face. "See, best friends are always first!"

"No way, he just said the _good_ side, that's clearly me!"

"Ha! If Allen wasn't here, I would of guessed you to be a badly disguised akuma!"

"_What_?"

Allen sighed and burrowed down into his heated blankets. The two were loud and obnoxious, but they were family in their own strange way. He smiled sleepily, the fabric muffling the loud argument that was happening.

He closed his eyes with a warm feeling not just outside, but inside too. It was nice; to feel at 'home.'

He slipped quietly back into sleep, no more strange dreams plaguing him this night.

**/DRDRDR/**

"Are we there yet?"

Isaac sighed.

Ammy glared at the boy.

Smudge seemed to be trying to find his 'happy place.'

Speck, the only one apparently not bothered by his repetition, said, "No."

Mark looked sadly down at the landscape that seemed to stay the same, no matter how long they flew. "When are we going to be there?"

"We will _get there_ when we _get there_," Ammy growled lowly.

"Can we not just shut that small pest up. Pleeease," Isaac asked Smudge. "He is being a _brat_."

Smudge glared at the white dragon, and Isaac chose to shut himself up. The black beast flapped out of formation, and flew towards Speck.

For a moment, Mark thought he was going to be eaten, and Speck had much the same thoughts, as Smudge grabbed the speckled gray dragon around the chest and easily held him in place.

But then--

"Get onto my back." Smudge said. "We will be able to go much faster if you just ride."

Speck looked at him, face full of curiosity. "Speck heavy. Smudge ok with heavy?"

Smudge nodded. "I'm the biggest, and you are not that much heavier than a cow, especially because of how skinny you are."

Speck carefully moved from Smudge's arms and went into his back, fitting quite like a medium dog on top of a large Great Dane, with Mark to be the Chihuahua on top.

"Wow," Mark whispered as the larger dragons quickly gained altitude and hight, going at speeds that mocked how fast they had been going before. Speck seemed very interested in what Smudge's Kanda was like, and all of the other people he knew.

"Kanda is a _very_ good person. He can kill akuma with his sword, and he does not eat sweets, which are bad for our people's teeth. He does not cut people with his sword ..." Smudge turned his head, a dog-like action to show that he was thinking. "... at least, he has not cut any people with his sword since I have met him. He _did_ try to cut Mr. Lavi, but I _think_ that was my fault--"

Ammy laughed. "You tried to suggest he _mate_ with someone! Of course he wanted to _cut_ something!"

Smudge pouted. "I did not mean to be rude, and I have already told you that!"

Ammy flew a bit closer to the two. "His Kanda is not so great. His temper is ill most of the time and he does not talk to Smudge unless in involves his sword work. And even then he stays formally rude. My Servant is _much_ more behaved. He talks a lot and gets me food when I want it, and he can make the other humans laugh."

Issac snorted at them both, and glided closer himself. "Well Allen--"

"Is _mine_." Speck growled at him before he could say another word.

They exchanged growls and snarls until Smudge barked at them both, "We all know how good Mr. Allen is! Not stop behaving like _serpents_ and _get a grip_!"

Speck closed his jaws, looking almost ashamed.

Isaac did the same, and flapped a few wing beats away, looking embarrassed.

Smudge sighed. "You too are worst than-- than--"

"Worst and cats and dogs?" Mark offered.

"_Definitely_ worse than that!" Ammy said.

Smudge glanced at them. "Yes."

"Speck sorry." Speck said. "But, Speck love Allen. _'Sack_ doesn't."

"Sack?" Mark asked.

"That's what he calls Isaac." Smudge said. "Though I think _it's a bit rude to do so_." The end of the remark was clearly aimed at Speck, but the smaller dragon ignored him.

"Ok Speck, while were going to Allen, I say we work on your speech habits." Mark said, trying to keep the two from fighting.

"Speech?" Speck asked.

"Yes, now repeat after me: how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

"Much wood would woodchuck chuck?"

"No, now how much wood--"

**/DRDRDR/**

"Oh! Look at that! Can we go see it closer Miranda, can we can we pleeease?" The yellow dragon, second largest of the overall brood and lover of all things interesting to look at, was currently peering down at a large forest. Several strange sounds and animal calls echoed on the dark night-covered place.

"No," Miranda said, trying in vain to hold down a map blowing in the wind to get a good look at it. "Sunny, we need to keep going until we hit the Chinese border at least--"

"And how long will that take?"

"At least," The map swatted Miranda in the face, as if it had a life of its own, and was very angry. "Six more hours--" The map seemed to be revolting, wrapping itself around her head and proving impossible to pull off. "--gru-_mph_!"

Krory tried to pry the attacking paper from her face, and Sunny turned her head to look at the two of them wrestling with the small and stubborning strip of ink-covered tree bark. It was very entertaining.

Lenalee sighed, moving her feet as if she were skating on ice, though she was actually walking on air.

Krory was eventually able to pull the map off of Miranda, and she thanked his profusely while eying the map with obvious shock. Lenalee took it as a sign that Miranda had never been buried in a pile of one of the science department's many mountains of paper before, and was unused to paper attacks.

Sunny turned her head, stifling a sound in her throat that seemed to sound suspiciously like a laugh, and flapped a few more yards up. She blinked for a moment. "Miranda?" The dragon asked.

"Yes?" The woman replied, still contemplating the evils of the wind and maps.

"Are we too meet anyone on the way? Like Smudge and everyone else?"

Lenalee thought it was unlikely, but possible. "We could come across them, why?"

Sunny seemed extremely please as she exclaimed, "I think they are just ahead of us! Right over there!"

All three exorcists squinted and looked forward, but all they could see were a few dots on the horizon, looking more like a small flock of birds than a flight of dragons.

"I don't see them ..." Krory said, "Are you talking about those birds?"

"It is Ammy and Smudge and Isaac!" Sunny told them. "Though Smudge looks like he's been eating one to many cows lately. And the little green bug called _me_ fat." She snorted.

"They look like they could be dragons ..." Miranda mumbled, still squinting.

"Oh!" Sunny exclaimed. "I see, Smudge is not fat, he just has another dragon on his back! It must be the new one they told us about. He seems very small ... and is that a person on top of both of them?"

Slowly gaining on the group, even Lenalee could now see the small gray dragon looking curiously back at them from Smudge's back, a small blond boy waving from on top of them both.

"Hello?" The child called over. Soon Sunny slipped into the formation, a bit below Smudge's right wing and they were all in hearing distance. The boy looked curious, and a bit suspicious. "Who are you?"

Lenalee smiled, while Miranda and Krory waved hesitantly. "I'm Lenalee Lee. This is Miranda Lotto, and Arystar Krory the third."

The kid looked them up and down, apparently inspecting them to see if they looked like they were telling the truth. He grinned abruptly. "Are you all exorcists?"

"Yes," Miranda answered. "How did you know?"

"Well, you all seem to have a strange taste in fashion," He pointed out, talking about their coats. "And so far every one of you that I've seen has had a giant reptile or two in tow."

Those _were_ good points ... Sunny laughed, and gave him a praising look. "Very nice observation." She said as if complementing him on his hair.

"Why thank-you." He said, looking surprised.

The small gray dragon glanced at them. "Lee, 'Randa, and the Third?" It asked, sounding male, with horns decorating his angular head.

Lenalee giggled, and the dragon seemed to like the sound. "Lee happy?"

Miranda looked confused. "My name is Miranda."

Speck blinked at her, thinking hard and slowly moving mouth and tongue to get the name right. "Me-ran-duh?" She nodded and Speck repeated the name a few times, looking like he was almost tasting it instead of saying it.

Krory spoke up, "And you can call me Krory."

Speck repeated the ritual. "Krow-ree?"

With another confirming nod, he chanted it a few times. Once the name seemed set in his brain, Speck turned to Lenalee. "Name right?"

She smiled at the childlike beast. "Lenalee."

"Lee-na-lee."

"Yes."

Mark snickered at Speck. "And 'ta think you had been worried the other people wouldn't like you. You big pushover!"

Speck looked confused. "Over what?"

Mark tried to explain. "Well, when someone is big and scary-looking, but is actually like a big nice guy, people call them push overs, 'cause they weren't as heavy with nasty-ness as everyone had initially thought."

Speck whined. "Confusing."

"Yeah," Mark agreed. "I don't think even I understood a word I just said. We should get Val to teach you these things. She's a whole lot smarter, even if she's younger than I am."

"Allen?"

Mark sighed. "And Allen. Ok?"

"Oh-K!"

Isaac growled, almost inaudibly, but everyone heard it. Speck started to growl back, but Smudge stopped him by giving him a none-to-subtle glare, and sent another one Isaac's way, and they both became moodily silent.

Miranda gulped down a silent 'eep!', and Krory asked, "What's wrong with them?"

None of the exorcists present had ever seen two dragons with such hostility aimed at each other before. At least, all other hostility seen was more like play that actual fighting. It was unsettling to see such large creatures at odds with each other.

Smudge looked at loath to explain. "You weren't told?"

Lenalee skated closer to Smudge's head. "Told what? We know Allen has two dragons--"

"Al-_len_ mine!" Speck said loudly, voice agitated into over-pronunciation.

"Allen is _mine_." Isaac snarled quietly.

This time, Krory gulped, and Miranda couldn't hold back a small "Eep!"

Smudge sighed. "Every dragon has only one chosen, and every chosen is only chosen _once_. It is impossible for two to be fighting like this."

"But they are." Ammy complained loudly. "And it is very annoying after the first few confrontations."

Lenalee looked intrigued. "So, how do you know it's impossible?"

Smudge looked her in the eye. "I _know._ That is all."

That was not a very good answer, but the only one being given, so the girl let the matter drop."So, one of them is lying?"

Smudge looked a little embarrassed. "Well ..."

"Well what?"

"That should be just as impossible." Ammy said, looking a little high-and-mighty with her information. "We are not allowed to lie about exactly who we chose."

Mark looked surprised along with everyone else. "You're not?!"

"No. Not unless it is allowed."

"How is it allowed?" Lenalee asked.

"By the real chosen asking us to. Anything our chosen asks, we try to do, because that was one of the things we were sent here to do."

"You all were ... sent?" Lenalee seemed to be doing all of the asking now, and Smudge did the answering, the rest listened with rapt attention.

"Well, yes. Were you not told that either?"

"Who exactly is supposed to be telling us this?" Lenalee asked. "It's not like we've ever encountered dragons before."

"Oh, but you did!" Smudge exclaimed, then sobered a little, "Well, your ancestors did."

Silence.

"Exactly how far back a generation gap are we talkin' about here, Smudge?" Mark dared to ask.

"Only a hundred or so. Why?"

Mark sighed. "'Why?' the dragon asks ... geez ... Because most of what we knew about you all was that you all were virgin eating monsters! That's why!"

Smudge blinked in comprehension. "Oh ... then you all have not heard about the Golden Dragon then? Or the Holy Grail and the chosen knight?"

"What does all that stuff have to do with Allen having two dragons?" Mark said, confused and a bit angry.

"Well, the Golden Dragon was created the first time a fragment of innocence activated, and the knight was his chosen. The grail was the knight's own weapon fused with another fragment of innocence, and they are now both beyond the end of the world."

Silence.

"Just what the hell are you talking about?" Mark said, unfamiliar with this story and thoroughly confused. "What knight? And what the hell is a 'holy grail?'"

"It is sometimes called the Sacred Chalice." Smudge supplied. "And the knight is great Sir Galahad. Surly you have heard of him?"

Lenalee stopped them for a second. "The first innocence fragment was found, as a dragon? By a knight? Didn't knights slay dragons?"

Smudge looked shocked. "Good heavens no! Only barbaric villagers tried to slay dragons, and thank God they didn't have much luck at it either."

"Wait," Mark interrupted. "How do _you_ know all of this?"

Smudge pondered. "Well, I imagine they made sure I knew before we left, just in case you all didn't."

"_Who_ made sure?"

"Galahad, I suppose." Smudge pondered. "Or the Golden Dragon. They tend to like to make sure about these things."

Miranda looked like she had been stunned, and Krory looked vaguely interested. "I think I've heard the legend of Galahad before ..."

"Can you enlighten us? I'm still lost." The blond boy asked.

"Well ..." Krory pondered, digging into a long forgotten memory, "He was the son of Sir Lancelot, and became the best knight in the world, and went on a quest with two others to find the Holy Grail, but he was the only one out of the three that was unstained enough to truly understand it's secrets, and--"

"Unstained? What does that mean?" Mark interrupted. "That his clothes were clean?"

"No ... I think it means he was free of sin, or something like that." Krory continued. "My Grandfather used to love telling legends he had heard around the world at the dinner table. Anyway, He became the guardian of the Grail along with the dragon, I think, and both went to a crystal castle of some sort inside a large forest somewhere."

"That is mostly right." Smudge said. Ammy, Isaac, and Speck were silent, but didn't mind being left out. Smudge was better at telling these things anyway. "The castle and forest are inside a garden beyond this world, and no humans are allowed there. The Golden Dragon guards Sir Galahad as he guards the Chalice. So, essentially, the dragon guards both of them."

"So ... what does this have to do with Allen having two dragons?" Mark asked again.

"From there, the Golden Dragon watches us, to make sure we do not do anything bad."

"Like, how the Inspector would follow Allen around all day." Sunny added, just for extra clarity. "If we break any of the laws built into the innocence we are made of--"

"--we die. Simple enough little human?" Isaac finished, addressing Mark.

"And your laws are ...?" Mark asked.

"Too many to tell." Ammy complained. "Starting with, 'obey the chosen will.'"

Chosen will? Oh ... the will of the 'chosen' ...

"You don't obey _your _chosen that often." Sunny pointed out. "How come you haven't expired yet?"

"For your information--" Ammy growled, insulted, "--my chosen has not exerted his will. _None_ of the chosen have exerted their will yet."

"Exert will?" Miranda asked. "How does want 'exert' their will?"

Sunny sighed. "You would probably be the one to have most trouble doing it--"

"--it is _really_ wanting us to do something." Isaac explained. "_Willing_ it, until we have to do it."

"Like the way Kanda glares." Smudge said. "He makes people uncomfortable until they do what he wants, except it does not seem to work on everyone."

"Like my Servant. Kanda's glares do not affect him at _all_." She sounded like she was gloating.

"Which is why Kanda tries to cut him up so often." Smudge said, a smile in his voice. "He ignores the threats when any observant human would run away."

Ammy glared. "Are you calling my Servant stupid?"

"No," Isaac supplied, "He is just calling your Servant a very unobservant human."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean, Mr. Overly-Bleached?" Ammy snapped back.

Speck snickered at the nickname, and Marc shushed him. This was interesting.

"That he does not choose the best coarse of action sometimes, that is all." Isaac snapped, he didn't like people poking fun at his color, or lack of it.

"Oh really?" Ammy looked about ready to barbecue someone. "And what about _your_ chosen? He does not seem to be very smart: getting chewed up and spit out, lost on some Godforsaken continent, found half dead--"

She never got any farther, and if she did no one heard her over the roaring growls that burst out of Speck and Isaac at the same moment, both beasts looking ready to tear her apart.

"Quiet!" Smudge bellowed over their outcry and peace, however fragile, was restored again. "No more _arguing_. If any of you so much as glare at each other I'll—I'll--"

"Eat them?" Sunny suggested.

"Smack 'um good?" Mark asked.

"Eat every single bit of food you all try to eat!" Smudge said with a flash of inspiration.

They stared, slack-jawed at him.

"You wouldn't--" Ammy said, eyes wide.

"He couldn't—" Isaac said in disbelief.

"I would and could." Smudge said with authority. "I am bigger than all of you, and could make sure none of you got anything to eat. It would not be very hard."

Silence reined as the dragons though over the possible consequences to their actions.

"Speck like food." Speck spoke up. "Me be good."

"Hey! I've been trying to teach you proper English for the past two hours and the best you can say is _that_?!" Mark exclaimed, ending it with a groan and slap to his own forehead. "That does it, Val is going to teach you how to speak, and I'm not going to do a thing! You're just too frustrating!"

Speck whined. "I sorry."

The exorcists tried not to laugh, and failed on varying levels between covered giggles and silent shakes of contained laughter.

"He is not that bad at speaking." Sunny said. "The little Gremlin is much more annoying and troublesome, and he does not get names right."

Smudge looked at her rebukingly. "We _all_ do not get most human names right."

Ammy barked out a laugh. "At least we come _close_, he just uses the next best sound or nick-name."

"And this is coming from the dragon that calls Mr. Lavi her 'Servant' instead of his proper title?" Smudge said, more mischievous now and grinning with a childish glee. "If I may say so, doesn't that make you somewhat of a hypocrite?"

A very hot blast of fire narrowly missed Smudge's face, and he braked abruptly to dodge the rest of the flame, nearly losing the small dragon on top of him and the precariously sitting Mark in the process.

Ammy stopped the inferno, and snorted at the black dragon trying to get back up to speed. "I am _not_ a hypocrite. And if you suggest that I have as much trouble with names as that horrible little green bug--" She glared hotly. "--next time, I will not miss."

Isaac sighed. "Are we not supposed to fight, or is it just allowed every few moments?"

The dragons continued their chatter, the exorcists seemed both awed and used to the intensity of the arguments, but one human remained silent.

Mark held on to Speck, heart hammering. For a moment, he had thought he was going to fall, and the ground had looked oh so far away ... it was so easy to think of how his own bones would crunch on such an impact, maybe being turn to dust when finally and painfully reaching the ground.

Such a long, long way down ... he had never noticed before ... there hadn't been any real threat of falling ... falling down, down, down ...

Speck looked worriedly at the boy. "M'-ark?"

The blond did not respond at first, body still felling like it was going _down_ instead of floating_ up_. Shuttering away the feeling and misgivings, Mark gave Speck a shaken smile. "Y-yeah?"

"What wrong? Very quiet. Not normal."

"Just a little ... shaken ... and stirred too, I think ..." His grip tightened, and he gulped, trying to not look down. Speck seemed to figure out what was wrong and began gibbering reassuring things and nonsense, thinking to do what he had seen other do.

"We o-k! Smudge no drop, Amm- Amar-" Smudge had trouble remembering the name, but in the end it came out, quite like sneeze finally would after tickling your nose for an unbearable amount of time. " _Amaterasu_ not angry, all good!"

Mark huddled miserably on the dragon's back, not really listening.

Speck sighed sadly. He was not very good at 'cheering' humans, and had not encountered the 'sadness' very often; only when Allen would be quiet and thinking, and even then it was not quite the 'sad,' but more like the 'home missing.'

Smudge was busy arguing with the others and everyone else was doing some arguing too, so no one was helping to do the 'cheering up.' Speck decided to do what usually was best.

He nudged the small human with his nose a bit.

At first, Mark ignored him, being very busy being 'scared/sad,' but after a few more hopeful pokes with his snout, Mark absentmindedly started petting and Speck _prumm_-ed happily at him. At first, it make him surprised, but when he notice how happy the petting was making Speck, he cheered and rubbed him under the chin too.

Speck, the silly thing, as doing what most pets had been doing for centuries. Chasing the 'sadness' away with company and undemanding love that could be given to anyone for any reason, and no reason at all.

While enjoying the scratching and patting immensely, Speck couldn't help but hope Allen was getting better wherever it was the other humans had taken him. The venom in him had been _bad_ bad, and he hoped they had gotten the rest of it out.

Before it spread.

**/DRDRDR/**

Bak was having quite a day. With Walker showing up the way he was along with two other injured people, it either meant that: _A._ Bak's life was about to get a lot more complicated, or-- Bak almost broke out in hives a the thought-- _B._ he may get to have a glimpse of Lenalee Lee ...

Bak really should of widened the possibilities, but like most of the Order's scientists and Branch heads, he was single minded and tended to ignore what wasn't relevant at the time, at least to him.

In retrospect, he now had a lot of strange blood samples to play with. The Inspector's blood came out clean, but the girls blood had had some strange traces in it, and so had Allen's.

Being the most capable scientist in all of the Asian Branch (this title was self proclaimed), Bak took it upon himself to investigate ... and play around with the biochemicals lab ...

**/DRDRDR/**

Lavi was having a great time. He wasn't bored anymore, and the girl proved to be a great source of entertainment in the form of several intense arguments. Sure, Allen fell asleep half-way through the first one, but that was okay. Val was quite the insulter, and even Lavi was at a loss on how she had found a good half of the curse words she used, and they sounded vaguely African in origin. It was just getting to fun when--

"_Baka Usagi_!" Came the roar from the waiting room. Lavi gulped, and Val stopped mid-sentence.

She gave him one look and said quite calmly, "You did something you weren't supposed to, didn't you?"

Lavi forced a laugh. "What makes you say that?" He eyed the entrance to the room, keeping in mind that it was also the only exit and made several escape plans in his head. Braiding a Yuu-chan's hair was strictly forbidden, and one of the funnest things to do when bored. And it added excitement when the sleeping lion woke up too--

"'Cause that's the tone my mama would use right before she gave Mark or me a good whoopin." She looked a little sad at the thought of the deceased family member but continued. "I think you're about to be whooped good, Mr. One-Eye."

And at that moment Kanda came through the door, as slow and smooth as a hunting panther. It took him to time at all to spot Lavi and pin the Bookman apprentice with a glare a snake would shiver at.

"Rabbit ..." He didn't pull out his sword quickly, he did it nice and slow, make sure Lavi heard the searing scrap of the metal against it's scabbard. "What have I told you about messing with my hair ...?"

Lavi laughed nervously, slowly inching towards the back of the room. Kanda advanced, following inch by inch. "Hehe ... um ... not to?"

"..." Kanda was still moving forward, and Lavi's back had come into contact with the wall. There was no where else to move too.

"Yuu-chan, what are you going to do with that-- ...?"

"Make some soba with little chunks of rabbit meat in it." Sure, it was oblivious he wasn't_ really_ going to cut Lavi up and turn him into lunch, that would have been disgusting, unsanitary, and it probably wouldn't of tasted very good. Besides, there was the very important fact that: Kanda likes vegetables in his soba more than meat, disproving what he had just said.

Of course, all of that was besides the point as Kanda attacked, Lavi just barely dodged, and the two proceeded to make a royal mess of the infirmary's sick ward--

**/DRDRDR/**

"There!" Smudge exclaimed, drooping down a few dozen yards as he began to circle a large fissure in the earth below. It was in the middle of a bamboo forest stretching across the horizon, almost hiding the rip in the ground completely. "Kanda is down there, trying to cut Mr. Lavi up again!"

"How do you know that?" Mark asked, gripping very tightly to Speck as they all made the descent. Speck had gotten off of Smudge's back, as speed was no longer a factor and the gray could land perfectly well by himself.

He would just of add unneeded weight to Smudge in such a rapid fall towards the main entrance of the Asian branch if he had stayed on.

"I can see him," Smudge said, and the whites of his dragon eyes flared, as if with an extra energy. "Though these walls are very thick ..."

"_I_ can see everything just fine," Sunny declared, gliding passed. "I think my eyes are better than yours Mr. black-lump."

Smudge bristled a bit. "I am _not_ a lump."

"I think that is beside the point." Ammy said from a bit above the two of them, her favorite place to be. "I believe the point is: will your Kanda be able to even touch my Servant once in the next five minutes? And I say if he doesn't you should give me a few slabs of beef."

Smudge groaned, he hated it when Ammy wanted him to bet on something. "Must we? Why can we not simply stop them from fighting? That would be so much better--"

"Because it is good for them to do so like-- like little hatchlings play fighting."

Isaac sighed. "I think it is a little different than that. Neither of them are 'hatchlings,' they are more like fledglings to me."

Mark ignored their conversation and tried to figure out just when his stomach had gained the ability to feel like he had left it behind a few hundred feet up. The sensation of falling was very distressing, and he clung to the beast beneath him with all his might, his fingers and thighs beginning to lose circulation from his death-grip on Speck.

The speckled gray widened his wings and slowed his decent a bit, making Mark feel a little more stable even though they were both still 'falling.'

Lenalee skated circles around all of them, as she didn't need to do the slow glide down due to the fact that she wasn't flying with a pair of wings, but a pair of boots. Mark had wondered when he first saw her how the hell she could fly, before remembering Allen's arm. He dismissed the unusual as normal; for the exorcists that is.

They landed on the rim of the fissure, as it would be easier to try to do a steep dive from the rim instead of glide in the narrow space. Little water falls fell over the edge and the bamboo rustled in the disturbed air as the bests landed, scaring away most of the small wildlife.

"I'll go on ahead!" Lenalee called over to them, descending into the small, narrow valley and moving out of sight.

Sunny huffed and laid down, head dangling down the ledge. "I do not see why she gets to go first ..."

"It's probably to make sure we don't shock them too much." Miranda told her. "Believe me, a very large dragon is one of the things that people _don't _want to get a surprise from."

Ammy huffed, sitting on her hunches and daintily picking something out from between her teeth. "My Servant has evaded your Kanda for over five minutes. You owe me two slabs of your beef Smudge."

The black dragon was shocked. "I didn't even agree to the bet!"

Speck stared at the ground. Mark watched him glaring at the dirt for a while, before getting bored and asking what he was looking at.

"Allen."

"You can see what's down there too?" Mark tried to spontaneously get x-ray vision and see through rock and soil, but failed and made his head ache a little bit.

"If want to, Speck can." The dragon answered, but sounded distracted. "Al-len sick."

Mark blinked. The dragon only reverted to separate syllables if he was either exited or worried, and Speck's face didn't look happy, even though he could now see Allen. "What's wrong? Weren't they supposed to make him better here?"

"Didn't--" Speck was speaking slowly and carefully, trying hard to say something comprehensible in his distress. "--Didn't get, _bad_bad, poison out."

Mar blinked at the back of the dragon's head. The other beasts had gone quiet.

"What-- what is wrong with Allen?" Krory asked.

"He was bitten by an akuma," Mark told them. "At least, that's what looks like what happened when we found him."

"When ... you found him?"

Mark nodded wisely. "Oh, yeah. We had been traveling all around England trying to find where the place was, but Allen kept getting lost and Val kept trying to get us un-lost which really only made us more lost--"

"Mark not like lost." Speck added.

"No I _didn't_! It took us forever to get to the stinking 'Headquarters,' then no one was there!"

"But I thought Link was hanging around," Krory said. "Waiting for Allen to come back."

"Well, no one bothered to welcome us." Mark grumbled. "We didn't see him 'till he near scared the pants off of us! He was a moanin' and a groanin' and bleedin' as he came up the stairs, makin' us think he was a ghost or somethin' ..."

Miranda cleared her throat slightly. "Someth_ing_."

Mark stared at her. "What?"

"Y-you said all of your _ing_'s as _in_'s." She said, surprisingly forward. For Miranda anyway.

At this point, Mark felt what almost all kids and some teenagers feel when in the middle of a good story and caught off-guard with a correction by a stranger on grammar. Annoyed. Really, right before he had gotten to the best part too! Besides the fact that he normally wasn't mean, (really, what kid is every really intentionally mean?) Mark did something he would soon regret.

He glared. The glare was not a Kanda 'I-will-kill-you' glare, or even a 'how-dare-you' glare.

It was a childish and unthoughtful 'I-really-don't-care-about-_your_-opinion-_at all_' glare.

Now, some of you might not understand how hurtful such a small look can be, especially to one that is shy and fearful of rejection, and of being useless. Miranda is one of these people. For the majority of her first twenty-six years living she had been labeled useless and ignored by everyone. So, when she got a look that was so like the ones all of her peers used to give her she became a bit-- ... gloomy.

And Miranda's version of 'gloomy' is to: First, lose all color. (Yay for black-and-white animation moments!) Second, inwardly berate herself for being such a failure. (Ch. 170 has a good example of this...) And third, sit there dejectedly with a large dark cloud over her head, mumbling something like 'I'm sooooorry ...'

Krory looked at the small raincloud with a '?' expression, and Sunny looked shocked at Miranda's going from a 33 positive attitude to 563 doom-and-gloom in no time flat. Then she sent a look at Mark that should have incinerated him on the spot. "You are going to apologize to Miranda _right now_."

The boy still hadn't realized he was in trouble, and very likely to be the first human to be eaten by a dragon for the first time in over a hundred years. So he said the worst possible thing to say at the time, which was, "Why?"

**/DRDRDR/**

Somewhere, deep below the group, Mark's sister stopped poking at the needle embedded in her arm, ignored the two exorcists playing 'tackle football/tag', and wondered just how her idiot brother was doing. Then she remembered just how much of an idiot her brother could really be, and laughed.

If her guess was right, he'd probably been swallowed by a large reptile by now ...

END 8.

Omake:

(Knux33 is currently hiding under her desk, Gremlin swoops in)

Gremlin: (?)

Knux33: Don't. Ask.

Gremlin: (Perches on top of Knux33's head) Why are you hiding?

Knux33: I said, DONT ASK.

Gremlin: Aw, but Kanda was looking for you ...

Knux33: Eep! (Shuffles deeper under desk) Don't tell him I'm here! I'm not here! I'm somewhere in a galaxy far, far away!

Gremlin: (?) But I thought you sort-of liked Kanda? And he wasn't looking to cut you up before ...

Knux33: That was BEFORE he thought I was going to make my story a Yullen. Which I'm NOT!

Gremlin: Why? And what IS You-lin anyway?

Knux33: (Stutters) Well ... in fanfics where Allen and Kanda ... reeeeally love each other ... and ... uh ... they ... it involves ...

Gremlin: And Kanda was mad at Allen too, so he's looking for him.

Knux33: (Relief) Oh, that's okay, I thought something like that would happen. So, I hid Allen in my sister's closet ...

(High pitched fan-girl scream)

Gremlin: What was THAT? (Eyes wide)

Knux33: Oh, no ... (Very scared) She found him ...

Gremlin: What does that mean?

Knux33: That Allen had better run _very_ fast--

(White-haired blur runs in and hides in Knux33's closet. 10-year-old girl stops at the door, notices knux33 under desk)

Sister: Did you see Allen?

Knux33: (Fake-ponders) He went down the stairs, and I think I heard the front door open and close ...

(Sister runs off at the speed of hunting cheetah. Relieved sigh heard from closet.)

Allen: (Pokes head out) Thank-you, (looks back in closet) You do know Krory is in here, right?

Knux33: Shhh! (Looks panicked) Don't utter his name aloud or else--

(BetaReader appears using super-awesome-teleportation powers)

Beta: Krory!! (Steals Krory and flys away)

Knux33: (Sweat) That happens ...

Gremlin: What does she do to Krory?

Knux33: Don't know. Don't ask. Don't care unless I need him for fanfiction ... (Laughs) Which I do ...

Allen: Is Kanda still mad at us?

Knux33: The best thing to do is to wait a few days; or at least until Lavi annoys him in some way--

(Somewhere within earshot) Kanda: IDIOT RABBIT!! (Sounds of things breaking)

Knux33: (Sighs and gets out from under desk to start typing again) Well, that settles that. (Thinks) I just hope it's not my homework they're destroying down there ...

Gremlin: Can I read more of your story? (Tries to peek at screen)

Knux33: (Blocks) No. You, my friend, have to make sure my sister doesn't get run over by a car while she's outside looking for Allen, whom she wants to marry.

Gremlin: Aww, no fair.

Knux33: Don't worry, I think the reviewers like you so much that one of them wants to start a fanclub for you ...

Gremlin: (Happy) Yey! (goes off to melt any threatening looking vehicles near my crazy Allen-obsessed sister)

Allen: (Tries to peek at screen)

Knux33: (Blocks, and glares) _Yeees?_

Allen: (Scared of fanfic authors due to their intense craziness) I'm not really going to die .. right?

Knux33: (Evil grin) Noooo, but-- (grabs frying pan) Me and BetaReader are going to have to fry your brain ...

Allen: What?! (Backs away)

Knux33: (Advances) Aw, come on, We just need to scramble it a little...

Allen: (Runs away)

Knux33: To all of you reading, **REVIEW PLEASE!!** (Chases after Allen with the frying pan)

End Omake

Oh, and before I forget--

**ACTUAL IMPORTANCE**: What pairings DO you all like? Add your fav pairing at the end of your reviews, and I'll see if I can make a few extra story's out of them, because i love you guys for reviewing!

AND I like to write ... in case u all haven't noticed ...

... chapter nine comes out at the usual time next Thurs, and I'm ending the poll I'm doing (on my profile) then, so don't forget to vote! I'll put up a new, more specific poll up on the next day ... seeee yooooou alllll theeeeen ...

-knux33 (man sometimes I make overly long authors notes ...)


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

**AN**: Something happened recently to me that I though I should mention before starting this chapter. I saw a young snake. Well, it was either that or a young salamander, and I was quite surprised upon seeing it. It was small, not even the length of my pinkly finger, and I didn't notice it until I had almost stepped on it. I slowed down and watched curiously as it wiggled and slithered deeper into the grass, trying to hide itself once again, and I couldn't help but think to myself 'That is not a worm.' Within seconds it had disappeared into the green and brown, with almost no extra sightings besides the view of the end of its tail as it escaped into a bush.

It, being a snake (or really just a salamander), reminded me of what I am trying to write, and how lier's really work. Snakes (lier's) are able to blend perfectly with almost any environment. They move so subtly, so quickly, that it looks like they are standing still. That is, they are still until they slither away or strike. It is the way their body's work. Each length of their belly is similar in size and shape, excluding the tail and head, so they _can _move without looking like they are doing so.

They are very amazing things, snakes.

**9.**

Lenalee descended into the rift, the bamboo forest disappearing from sight as she went deeper, following the flowing waterfalls downward. Near the bottom, above the flood line, she found the main entrance to the Asian Branch.

It was a crudely made tunnel burrowing into the rock and earth of the narrow valley wall, supported by artistically designed columns. Though it was big, it was very well hidden; and with a hand gesture the Branch head, Bak Chan, could move the very same earth and rock and seal away the entrance entirely. That's why Lenalee had decided to go ahead without the large group; it would be much easier to explain without several large dragons right at the front gate.

She glided into the tunnel, having grown used to using her boots in their new form, and landed right in front of the closed doorway that lead into the main hallway. It was closed. Never having come to this Branch alone before, she knocked on the stone door and hoped for the best.

A few moments later, the 'best' came in the form of a small woman walking out of the solid rock.

Fo, guardian deity of the Asian Branch, grinned at the teenager and held out a hand in welcome.

Lenalee, exorcist and sister to the Headquarters Branch Head, looked a bit confused one of the glove-like appendages Fo used as hands before gripping it and shaking. "I'm Lenalee Lee, here to see Allen Walker?"

Fo could already tell who the girl was just by looking at her face (it was a face she had often used to tease Baka-Bak with after all), but continued with formalities. "I am the guardian deity of this Branch, but you can just call me Fo. And those things on the ledge?"

Obviously Fo was talking about the dragons.

"If they can also come in please, along with two other exorcists and a--" Lenalee was interrupted as screaming was heard coming from above. "--civilian?" The sound grew louder and it was soon clear that someone had fallen off of the cliff face above and was now coming down dangerously fast towards the water and bottom of the valley. The exorcist tensed and was about to catch the screamer when Fo motioned for her to stop with a pull on her arm.

"Who ever it is isn't falling. They're not moving fast enough."

"Then what--?" The unsaid question answered itself as Sunny dived down, dropping a screaming Mark into the cold mountain water, before snorting with a nod and flying back up again. Somewhere, up above, Miranda yelled apologies down and Sunny told her not too and Smudge was telling Sunny that that was a terrible thing to do to the poor child.

Ammy and Isaac were laughing and, after a quick look up, Lenalee noticed Krory and Speck looking down worriedly.

Mark burst out of the water, gasping and shivering and yelling for help. Lenalee quickly went to his aid, though Fo just began giggling almost histarically at the sight of the wet boy being dragged out of the river, looking more like a waterlogged cat than a kid.

"S-she dropped me!" He sputtered, dripping onto the dry stone of the tunnel. "She grabbed me and dropped me!"

Lenalee sighed. She had become somewhat used to dealing with immature fights. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" Mark shook his head, and water sprayed everywhere as if a dog had just shaken off its fur coat. The blond boy thought for a moment. "At least ... I don't think I did anything ..."

Fo stepped forward and inspected the child, almost scaring Mark out of his skin.

"What is _that_?!" He exclaimed, never having seen such a humanoid before.

The shape-shifter grinned and announced, "He looks _just _like Baka-Bak when he was thirteen." She grabbed the boy by the collar of his shirt and started dragging him towards the door.

"He-he-hey!" Mark stuttered, trying not to get choked.

"Your sister's been going up the wall, and driving all of the nurses nuts." Fo pointed out for him. The stone doors slowly swung open, and Fo said to Lenalee, "The giant lizards can come down and come in if they can fit. Wong will escort you all to wherever it is you all want to go. I'm bringing this brat to his sister before the nursing staff decides to sedate her for the sake of silence."

"Why does everyone keep calling me that--?!" Mark yelled, referring to the 'brat' comment, before he was pulled out of sight.

**/DRDRDR/**

"Oh my--" Smudge said.

"Oh _yes_--!" Ammy giggled.

"Oh _no_--!" Miranda moan from the spot Sunny had planted her along with Krory before grabbing Mark and diving.

Speck just whined while looking forlornly down the cliff face, Krory joining him.

Then they all heard a splash. Isaac smiled ever so slightly, trying not to laugh, but ultimately failed. Ammy joined him. Sunny flew back up, looking very pleased with herself. "I believe we may be allowed to go in now, Ms. Lee is done talking."

Smudge gapped at her, his voice almost lost in astonishment. "That was terrible-- horrible-- monstrous--!"

"You--" Miranda began.

"I gave the vile little beast a bath." Sunny said of-handedly. "It was looking very ... dirty."

"Mark!" Speck exclaimed. "Not 'it,' Mark!"

"And _you_ be quiet." Sunny said with a school-teacher's snap. "I still do not know who in all of heaven _you_ are! Showing up out of nowhere and attacking Isaac and being scrawny and getting Smudge to fly for you and saying Isaac is lying and--"

Smudge moaned, rubbing his face with a clawed hand wearily. Sunny glared at him. "_What_?"

"You are being very unfair. Speck has only just met us, and you just threw his friend into a river. If I were him, I would not like you calling Child-Mark 'it' either."

Ammy snorted, disagreeing. "I say Sunny is right. That child was acting very much like a spoiled, rotten little brat, and deserved to be thrown down the cliff."

Miranda wailed, "You should not of done that! Oh, why did you drown the boy! Oh--" She was currently very distressed.

"I did not drown him." Sunny corrected her. "I just gave him a bath. And Mrs. Lee has pulled him out already anyway, and he is going inside the Human Place. Can we go look at it now?" Sunny had just gone from correcting to looking hopeful. "It is very big, and I think I can fit--"

Lenalee flew up, looking slightly flustered. "Why did you try to _drown_ him?" She demanded.

Sunny sighed. "I was not 'drowning' the brat!"

"She just gave him a bath." Ammy added with a slight smirk.

"He was very dirty." Isaac finished, picking something out from between his teeth with a claw.

Lenalee crossed her arms, and looked disapprovingly from one scaled face the next. "I did not want her to do it ..." Miranda said depressingly, sniffing.

"All mean." Speck said sadly, glancing at all of the other dragons. "'Sept Smudge. Smudge nice."

The three labeled 'mean' looked back at him with glares, and disbelief. "_What??_"

"Why, thank-you." Smudge said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"We see Allen now?" Speck asked Lenalee, ignoring the outraged reactions he created. "Please Lee-na-lee?"

She giggled a little at how cute the large, speckled gray creature was. "Yes, we are allowed to go in now."

Speck cheered, literally cheered out loud, and threw himself off of the cliff, diving quite a ways before unfurling his wings and catching enough air to stop himself from crashing into the water below, and disappeared into the near-invisible hole in the rock. Smudge took off next, followed by Isaac and Ammy. Sunny waited for Miranda and Krory to climb back on, and then followed the others downward, Lenalee bringing up the rear.

And so the Asian Branch was first formally introduced to 'dragons.'

**/DRDRDR/**

Val watched, head swiveling back and forth as the object she was watching moved left, then right, then swung back left, and went back right--

"Ooowww," Lavi groaned.

"You deserved it." Val pointed out.

"No I didn't," Lavi whined. "I'm just a victim here!"

Lavi was currently suspended from the ceiling of the infirmary by several bandages attached to his feet, and swinging back and forth as a human pendulum. Val watched him go back and forth like a ball in a tennis or ping-pong match. "Does the man that pokes a sleeping lion really get to be called 'victim?'_ I _call people like that 'idiots.'" Val held up a finger and pronounced, "Sir One-Eye, you are an idiot."

"Hey--!"

They were interrupted when they heard approaching footsteps. Val grinned at Lavi, suspended above several wrecked objects and machines that had been placed on the side (Kanda had thankfully chased the Bookman apprentice in the small, uninhabited space of the infirmary) and quickly feigned sleep.

"Wait! If the nurses find me like this--!" Lavi began to frantically pull at the strong white fabric attaching him to the ceiling. His face was red, as all of his blood had long since rushed to his brain. "--they'll _kill _me!"

"Exactly." Val mumbled from underneath her covers. "I think it would be fun to watch ..."

The exorcist finally pulled free of his bonds, but fell head-first onto the tile flooring, stunning him for the crucial five seconds in which someone walked into the room and--

Threw Mark directly at the hidden lump that was Val, both squawking in indignation. Fo looked quite pleased with herself before marching off somewhere.

Lavi looked up from his position on the floor at the two. Val clearly thought someone was attacking her and was kicking out with her legs, while Mark was evidently confused as to who was violently whacking him from under the covers he had gotten tangled up in when he had been thrown onto them. For a few moments it was like watching a dog accidentally step on top of a cat in a blanket, before Val realized just who she was kicking at. "_Mark_!?"

Currently cowering at the far end of the bed, in what had been a futile attempt to get away from the attacking sheets, the boy perked up at the sound of her voice. "Val!"

The two grabbed each other, hugging and laughing.

"Why were you kicking me?" Mark said, with a smile. "That's hardly a nice way to say hello, now is it?"

"Why were _you_ jumping on top of me?" Val retorted. "It's not like _that_ was a nicer way to say 'long time no see!'"

Mark's eyes trailed over to her arm. "You've got tubes hangin' out of ya!"

Val frowned. "That's how they put the medicine into me."

"Ugh," Mark made a face. "I'd rather have to swallow down that fish oil Gran used to give us ..."

"Me too." Val made a point of glancing at the spying Lavi. "Do you _mind_?"

"Oh, sorry," The teen wisely decided to get out of the room and look for some early Breakfast instead. And maybe see the dragons on the way and ask Speck and Isaac a few questions.

After Lavi left ...

"Mark ..." Hearing his sister's unusually soft tone, he turned, only to find her burying her face in his chest. He felt a slow wetness spreading from the spot. "... why does everyone have to be dead?"

Mark put his arms around his sister, and let the words sink in. He too, had been thinking along those lines. These people, the exorcists, had also reminded him of family only shortly dead. Reminded them of their Mother, and Father, and Grandma; the family they had lived with in Monrovia, a dock town in Liberia.

He patted her head, trying to be comforting when he felt like crying himself.

"You won't ever die like they did, right Mark?" He could barely hear her mumbling into his shirt. "You won't ever leave." She looked up tearfully. "Right?"

Mark, thirteen years old and the only family she had, gave a small smile back. "I can't promise anythin'," He held her tightly. "And I think we may have to go different places, like we just did, but I'll always try to come back." He looked uncertain. "Is that ... good enough?"

Val laughed, rubbing at her drying eyes, and embraced him back. "It's good enough for me."

**/DRDRDR/**

He had come to see what innocence now looked like, not be harassed. He had just wanted a few scientific samples, but got _himself _looked over instead.

"Oh, let me see!"

It was with those four words that Asia Branch Head Bak Chan knew he wasn't going to like these creatures, not one bit. And the fact that the yellow beast picked him up unceremoniously off the ground and watched him dangle by the back of his jacket.

"Why do you wear a hat?" Sunny asked, reaching for it with an extra claw. "Komui wore one because he liked it _very_ much, but because your hair is so thin--"

_No. It wasn't_-- Bak thought angrily, thinking of all of the comments he had gotten on his hat. _It wasn't going to call me_--

"--Are you bald?" And it pulled his hat off.

"Gaah!" _That_, had been the last straw.

"Bak-sama!" Wong yelled in distress from below, "Your condition--!"

He ignored him. "I am _not bald_! I'm not! Give me back my hat you overgrown lizard! I am the Branch head of a large and important Order, and if you do not give it back _this instant_--!" That's when Bak broke out in hives from all of the excitement. "Ah!" He wrapped his arms around his face, trying to hide the unseemly blemishes that cursed his otherwise flawless face. "_Don't look_!"

Sunny peered even more closely, trying to look at the strange change that had come upon the human's skin. "Wow, how do you do that? I thought only frogs had worts ..."

"Director Bak-sama breaks out in hives when he becomes overly exited," Wong explained, worriedly looking up. "May you _please_ put him down now?"

"Oh! Of course," She placed the human down, a bit thankful Miranda was getting food with the other humans instead of here at the moment. She didn't seem to like it when she picked people up to get a better look at them ...

"Sunny," Ammy said, watching as Wong bundled Bak up under a blanket and put some cream onto the hives, "I think you broke him ..."

"I did not!" Sunny exclaimed, still fiddling with Bak's hat. "All I did was _look_ at him!"

"And make him become overexcited," Isaac said rebukingly. "Causing him to break out in a rash."

"Big rash," Speck said, staring at the inflamed skin.

"Smuuudge," Sunny whined at the only one who had yet to think of this mess as_ her _fault. "They're all being mean to me ..."

"Well, even if you did not mean it, you caused it to happen." Smudge said wisely, but not with any venom or mocking in his tone. "You must ask people before picking them up, they can become very cross if you don't."

Sunny sighed, scratching down her last hope in someone not blaming her. "But everyone else didn't mind ..."

"Yes they did." Smudge told her. "They just did not show it."

"How am I supposed to know what bothers then if they do not tell me!" She said, full of exasperation.

"Miss Miranda told you." He answered, calm and polite, if with a smile in his eyes. "Several times."

"Oh, be quiet."

"But you are not being quiet, and I still have a few things to say." Smudge said, puzzled. "I listened to you, but you are not going to listen to me?"

"Just start talking and she'll _have_ to hear you." Ammy said with an elegant wave of her claw.

"But that would be rude. I will not speak if she does not want to listen." Smudge said and clamped his own jaws shut.

Ammy snorted and Isaac chuckled.

Speck opened his own mouth and said, "Smudge nice."

Ammy and Isaac rolled their eyes and Smudge looked like if he had skin, it would be blushing. "Oh, thank-you--"

Sunny glanced at the smaller gray beast, examining him fully for the first time. She grabbed his wing and pulled it open, quite like how one person could grab another's arm and move it to be examined at shoulder height. The action did not cause pain, but it was not comfortable without warning and consent beforehand.

Speck looked at her, questioning without asking.

"You're spotted everywhere," Sunny said, engrossed in the look-over. "Even on your wing membrane ..."

Smudge sighed. "Did you ask ...?"

"Oh! May I please see you?" Sunny said, not really caring about wording. Speck never cared for that anyway.

"Yes, Sun-knee."

She continued, like a horse breeder examining her stock, even telling him to open his mouth to look at his fangs. "Open wide ..." He complied. Dragons didn't really care for what humans called: 'personal space,' most of the time. It's silly to think anyone can 'personalize' space anyway.

Bak popped up, apparently recovered. "Wow, you really do have a set of jaws on you."

"Mine are whiter," Ammy proclaimed, hating the fact the 'speck' was getting more attention than she was. Isaac smiled, revealing his own pearly whites.

Soon, there was quite a contest going on, and many comparisons of teeth, claws, wing span, and even tail length.

Bak was _very_ happy, and so was Sunny for that matter. Both got to 'see' what they hadn't seen (or in Sunny's case, noticed) before, and got to gather information. Oh, what a great scientist's game this turned out to be!

But Bak couldn't help but wonder, where _was_ Lenalee?

He almost broke out in hives again thinking about the angel wondering the Asian Branches hallways, gracing the mortals with her radiant presence ...

**/DRDRDR/**

"And Smudge would probably like a few cows. Just a few, around three or four, and how much do you think Sunny would eat Miranda?" Lenalee asked the German woman.

"She likes decorated dishes," Miranda mumbled nervously, shy around strangers. "So if we could have around twenty steaks on a few of those please ..."

"Ammy will like a few dozen pounds of fish, it doesn't matter what kind, and the last two, Isaac and Speck, will probably have three cows a piece." Lenalee finished, looking at the cook. The man looked like he was going to fall over in a dead faint.

"When did we get five new parasitic-type exorcists?" He said, looking dazed. "I thought we were only going to have to feed Allen Walker's bottomless stomach, along with that one ..." He glance pointedly at the Romanian exorcist stuffing his face at a nearby table.

"Oh, they are not exorcists!" Krory said, with surprising clarity for someone speaking with their mouth half-full. "They are dragons!"

"D-dragons?" Apparently, no one thought to tell the man of certain developments.

"Oh yes!" Miranda said, hoping it would help. "They are big and have wings and one can breath fire--"

_That's_ when the head chief of the Asian Branch fainted.

Lenalee sighed, Krory was very surprised, and Miranda looked like she thought it was her fault.

It ... was going to be a long day ...

**/DRDRDR/**

Inspector Howard Link was laid out on his belly, nurses changing the bandages on his back. He flinch when the new fabric first touched the healing gashes and staples, though he tried in vain to hide his pain.

The nurse noticed anyway and frowned at him. "I still don't see why you want to go without painkillers ..."

Howard shivered. The first injection had given him weird dreams of people jumping on him, and he hardly wanted to be knocked unconscious for hours at a time. He had a job to do. Though he didn't look forward to the painful time he would have to spend letting the skin grow back, he knew he had to make sure Walker didn't do anything suspicious ...

"_No_." A bratty voice said on the other end of the room. Howard tried to look and found he could move his neck with relatively little pain, so he did so.

Val was looking doubtfully at something a doctor was trying to inject into her I.V. Line. "I'm _fine._" She insisted.

The man sighed, scratching his balding head. "Your fever still hasn't gone down enough yet, we need to put this in you so you'll continue to get better."

"You're not putting anything else into me." Val was determined. Her brother sat in a chair they had pulled up for him by the bed, and fidgeted nervously.

"I think you should listen to the Doc, Val." He said. "You need to get better."

She glared at her older brother, clearly telling him to shut up. He sank into his seat, clearly the submissive half of their two-person family at the moment.

Howard really couldn't care less, but the girl was looking a bit pale and flushed. How long had she been sick again? The prolonged illness had done nothing good for her complexion. And the boy looked tired and worn-out too ...

Eventually the doctor simply stopped arguing and stabbed the needle into the tube, his last nerve clearly stepped on.

"H-hey!" She squealed, apparently surprised the man had done that without her consent. Mark hid a smile behind his hand, looking like he wanted to thank the doctor very much, but reserved himself to a wink at the man when his sister wasn't looking.

The man smiled, and checked the clipboard attacked to Allen Walker's bed, clearly moving on to his next patient, while ignoring the protests from the last one.

Howard thought the man to be very efficient in his work.

The doctor was still looking over Allen's papers. "Miss Karli?" He called, and one of the nurses scudded over.

"Yes Doctor Alter?"

"Have they identified the unknown substance in Mr. Walker's blood yet?"

Howard slowly and discreetly continued listening.

"No Doctor, Bak still hasn't come back with his results."

Dr. Alter cursed. "What could have sidetracked him _this_ time ..." He sighed. "Please get someone to go find him. We need those results if we are to begin treatment."

"Yes Doctor." Miss Karli scuttled away, and the doctor woke Allen up to do a short check of everything. The teen yawned widely, white hair disheveled and tangled in strange positions from sleep. Allen tried to stay as curled up as possible in the self-warming sheets as the doctor checked his blood pressure and temperature. The core temp of his body was still unusually low by human standards.

But, about half-way through, a large and ominous sounding growl emanated from the exorcist's stomach. Quite a few people pause to make sure there wasn't an irritable lion in the room. Dr. Alter sighed, and Allen blushed in embarrassment. "All right, who forgot to feed Mr. Walker?"

The nurses all stared at one unfortunate brunette girl, the nurse that was currently wrapping up Howard, and she quickly stuttered: "B-but he was sleeping! And I didn't want to wake him--"

"Parasitic innocence users often have large appetites that need to be filled." The doctor rebuked her. "If they aren't fed, their heath quickly decreases. It's very important to stuff their faces full of food when they are injured or sick."

"I-I'm sorry Doctor ..." The woman looked ashamed with herself with the mistake.

"It's alright, we'll just have to order some--" Dr. Alter glanced at Allen. "--well ... what would you like to eat?"

The magic words. No sooner was the question asked than Allen listed off quite a few meals and second helpings of several food groups, making a few of the less experienced nurses stare. He babbled on for quite a bit, looking more alert now that he realized just how hungry he was. The listing was finished with a few dozen helpings of dango for dessert.

The doctor smiled, and finished listing all of the items off on a small piece of paper, and gave it to yet another nurse, who then quickly rushed out of the room to get the cooks working on the large order.

"We _are_ in the Asian Headquarters, aren't we?" Allen pondered out loud, seeing the room for the first time with the lights on.

The doctor was surprised, he hadn't realized no one had bothered to tell the exorcist of his exact location. "Why yes, and how are you feeling?"

Allen tried not to shiver, and pulled the blankets tighter around himself. "Cold, to tell you the truth."

Dr. Alter smiled and asked for more blankets to be brought, and Mark poked his head around the screen separating the two beds. A grin grew on the boy's face. "Hi-ya Allen!"

Allen smiled. "Hey Mark."

"You wouldn't _believe_ the trouble I went through to get here! That jerk kept callin' us brats--," Mark jabbed a thumb in Link's direction, and Howard secretly rolled his eyes at this. "--All them dragons kept yelling at each other, 'specially the gray and white ones--," ("'All _of the_ dragons' Mark, geez," Val said to him fro the other side of the screen, groaning at his grammar. It seemed to have deteriorated while he was away.) "--And they kept almost dropping me! It was_ horrible_!"

Allen smiled a little wider, before his face turned to looked a bit more thoughtful. "They didn't really try to drop you did they?"

"The yellow one _did_ drop me! Straight into a freezing river!" Mark exclaimed, waving his arms about his head. "And it said it was because I _deserved it_!"

Allen laughed. "The 'yellow one' is Sunny, and she usually doesn't go around dropping people into rivers ..."

Dr. Alter interrupted the conversation, though his voice was cheerful. "It seems the nurse brought back more than just your dinner Mr. Walker--"

"Look who I found!" Lavi crowed; Lenalee, Krory, and Miranda trailing in behind him.

Mark could of sworn he had_ never_ seen Allen's smile so big before, or as real. "Everyone!"

"Allen!"

There was a bit of havoc, as Lenalee gave Allen a flying-hug-tackle (**1**)(Which is humanly possible, even _without_ innocence mind you) causing her to land half-on the bed and half-not, Miranda started crying tears of joy, mumbling something about being 'so happy ...', and Krory was quite happy just standing there, smiling, with Lavi grinning in the background.

"Where is Kanda? I thought he was with you?" Krory asked Lavi as Allen was smothered with sisterly love.

"I haven't seen him since he tried to kill me a few hours ago, but he's probably moping around here somewhere ..." Lavi answered.

"Allen, You're so cold!" Lenalee exclaimed, pressing a hand against his forehead; the heated blankets covering the rest of him.

"I-I'm fine, it's just some weird akuma poison!" He tried to reassure her. Using the word 'poison' when trying to get someone to _not_ worry about you is never a good idea ...

Lenalee stood up, giving him a look mothers usually used for a child that had just come five inches away from being run-over by a truck. A wave of worry, and a very large amount of rebuke mixed with anger. "Just some '_weird poison_!?'"

Allen flinched, only just now realizing his mistake. "Um ... uh ... yeah?"

Yes, Lenalee can get mad.

Yes, she is _scary_ when mad.

Yes, she usually _restrains_ her anger until her brother does something monumentally stupid ... or when one of her friends seems to show almost no interest in self preservation at all.

Luckily, Dr. Alter intervened with the excuse of letting his patients get some rest, and had the nurses escort all of the extra people out. There was some protesting, but they all decided to file out pretty quickly when it was suggested they all might as well get their shots while they were there, Dr. Alter looking positively horrifying with a few of the prickly instruments in hand.

Without the crowd, Howard thought it was nice and quiet, except for one thing ...

"What do you mean _I can't eat anything for the next hour_!" Val demanded of the Doctor, watching as a nurse wheeled in the large amount of food Allen ordered on a cart. "_Allen _gets to eat!"

Dr. Alter sighed and wondered dully why he hadn't taken that promising-looking job in a small village in the Americas. "We don't know how your body is going to react to the medicine we're giving you. If we give you anything now you might throw it right back at us ... no pun intended."

Val pouted in the way only young teenage females can do: with disgustingly large amounts of anger and drama. "But I'm staring! Look at me!" She pulled up her paper hospital gown (that the nurses had wrestled her into) to reveal her lower chest, which showed a slightly pronounced ribcage.

For a moment, it seemed someone had paused Dr. Alter like some video cassette tape. Slowly, the doctor started moving again. He moved for the same instruments he had used on Allen, and gave the girl the full-body check he hadn't before, the lines on his brow growing more pronounced every second.

He looked shocked and very surprised. The girl was underweight, there was no denying that very obvious fact, and the muscle in her legs was slightly deteriorated, but other than those two now pronounce features, there were little to no signs of malnutrition or neglect. The muscle even seemed in the first stages of repairing and rebuilding itself ...

"Since when ... how long--?" Dr. Alter was really at a loss for words here.

"We had to feed ourselves for a few weeks, just Mark and I, and we didn't find much ..." Val pondered. "But after we met Allen we got to eat a lot of things. Mostly wild game and stuff like that ..."

"Any vegetables? Fruit?" Val gave him a blank stare.

Allen seemed to be thinking on his side of the screen. "Well, we did eat some green stuff at one point ... I think ..."

"Wasn't it sour apples?" Val asked. "Or grapes? I think we had grapes ..."

Dr. Alter sighed, and rubbed his eyes. "As soon as we're sure the medicine is working we'll have to give you something nutritional ... maybe broccoli ..."

Val make a face. "Ew."

"It's good for you." The doctor pointed out.

"If it's good for me, why does it taste so _horrible_ ... ugh." Val screwed her face up even more. "I _hate_ broccoli ..."

"Fine." The doctor said, finishing the examination. He grinned. "We'll just give you some nice spinach instead ..."

The look on the girls face was enough to make even the most hardened of the nursing staff laugh out loud, and Link to roll his eyes at the brat. What a day ...

**/DRDRDR/**

Snoozing in the corner of the waiting room, Lo-Fwa and Li-Kei slept in very uncomfortable looking positions with doodles all over their faces, but slept nonetheless, as (by their own time) it was the very early morning. The exorcists mostly ignored the sleeping scientists, besides the attempt to keep their conversation to a low whisper.

"Well, he looked fine--" Krory tried to calm the agitated Lenalee with.

"He also looked 'fine' when his arm was falling apart when we first boarded the ship to Edo!" Lenalee shout-whispered. "With Allen, 'fine' is a very lose term!"

"The Doctor seemed to know what he was doing ..." Miranda tried.

Lenalee took a deep breath, at least trying to calm down now. "What do you think Lavi?" She asked after counting backwards from ten.

Silence.

"Lavi?" The three looked around, only to find that Lavi had disappeared sometime during the conversation along with Mark.

"Where could they of gone ...?" Lenalee asked no one particular, and the exorcists settled down into the hospital chairs to wait for some solid news on Allen's condition.

**/DRDRDR/**

Currently two dragons were walking down the east area of the Asian Branch's main hallways, scaring to death quite a few of the civilians that liked to wake up early. The early bird may catch the worm, but the early _worm_ ends up on the hunter's breakfast table ... I'd classify the people as the _worms_ in this situation ...

"Oh, look at those!" Sunny exclaimed, looking at the spectacular view of the library she had on the second floor.

The Asian Headquarters seemed almost built for the creatures to roam freely, with the main hallway cutting though all the floors like a knife from floor to ceiling, and revealing several rooms on all of the floors for the dragon's to peek curiously at. Especially Sunny.

"Oh! This is so much fun!" Sunny smiled, spreading her wings and enjoying the large amount of space free to move them in. "Do you think we could stay here? It is so wonderful ..."

"If our Servants want us to, I guess I would not mind it ..." Ammy drawled, unwilling to totally praise the place until she had examined it top to bottom for imperfections. Though it _did _seem very nice, even to her standards.

"Where is your Lavi anyway?" Sunny asked. "I mean, I saw him take off with Smudge, Isaac, Speck, and the dirty-boy somewhere, but I did not catch where they were going exactly."

"My Servant wanted some answers." Ammy said imperially, shocking a poor half-dressed man in his pajamas into running way, screaming about: 'The end is upon us!'

"And if I know him at all--," Ammy grinned, something that would of surprised almost anyone not used to such jaws to near-death. "--he'll get all the information he needs."

**/DRDRDR/**

Lavi paced in front of the beasts at least six-times his size and weight, giving them each a one green-eyed stare in turn. Except for the kid sitting on Speck, all looked like they had the perfect tools for tearing him apart on the spot. He grinned at them.

"Well, I'm sure You'll all want to know why I've gathered you all here today--"

Smudge fidgeted. "Yes please, I would like to go see Kanda."

Speck whined. "Me see Allen?"

Isaac glared at the gray dragon, but Speck ignored him.

Mark yawned, looking bored and sleepy.

Lavi wasted no time in answering. "Smudge, you are going to make sure no dragon leaves this room, or attack anyone else." The black beast's eyes went wide.

"Speck and Isaac, you are both accused of lieing and giving out information under false pretenses." The two blinked, and glanced at each other; suspicion and distrust mirroring on both their features.

"Mark, you're an acting witness." The boy woke up a little and tried to look alert while leaning lazily on Speck's shoulder at the same time.

"Now--" Lavi secretly smiled behind the mask of his own serious face, he had always wanted to test his own powers of deduction in a game like this. "--time to bring this court to order."

_'Let's see if I can smell out the liar.'_ Hiding his own nervousness, Lavi began questioning and watching in a way only Bookman are trained to do ...

**End 9.**

(**1**)When my sister was away at summer Camp for three weeks she gave me one of those special tackle-hugs when she saw me again. It was a bit painful (I wasn't expecting so much affection, even though I was almost crying over seeing her again after she had been gone for so long) but I knew it was all out of love. This was a 'sisterly-love' tackle people, remember that! THIS IS A FREIND FIC! (Though I myself love any and all pairings as long as the story is good and relatively well written ...XD)

Thank-you for reading, and I hope you all can find it in your hearts to review ...

Hm, chapter 10 actually has a title ...

See-ya all next Thursday ...

-knux33


	10. Answers

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Summary**:Dragons add madness to the tale and the Order is moved. All are shocked when Allen finally reappears,with a dragon and two children in tow. As truth and fiction mingle, who can be trusted with truth, and which heart is rotted with lies? DRAGON'S EYE SEQUEL

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D.Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

10. **Answers**

"Brother sick?"

Komui didn't answer.

"Me _told _Brother fishy-tuna bad idea."

The man leaned over the side of the boat, turning paler at the mention of food.

"Tuna smelled fishy, Brother shouldn't of swallowed it down. Nope, nope. Tuna was fishy."

"_Please,_ stop talking about the tuna ..." Komui groaned at the winged lizard on his head. "... I think I'm going to lose my lunch ..."

"Brother didn't have any lunch!" Gremlin reminded him ever-so-helpfully. "Brother said: 'Me sick, no lunch.' So no lunch for Brother!"

Komui swallowed down metallic-tasting saliva that seemed to automatically fill his mouth right before his stomach heaved, and prepared for the worst. It came but a moment after.

Gremlin made a whining sound as Komui lost his not-lunch overboard and held on more tightly to Brother's head, keeping Komui's hair out of the way of the falling stomach contents.

The man knew ginger wouldn't help his stomach any until the bad tuna was out of his system (hopefully, the contaminated substance was what had just been 'tossed' overboard), and they were almost to the New Headquarters anyway, so Komui had thought it wouldn't be too bad having a slightly upset stomach on the last leg of the journey.

He had been wrong.

Wishing he had at least brought _some_ of the substance onto the small boat he was now on, Komui spent the last hours of his travel hanging miserably over the side of the ship, feeding whatever sea creature down below that liked bits of partially-digested sushi.

_Almost there Komui, you're almost there ... _He thought to himself, thinking of getting back to civilization, where they had pills and medicine for such food poisoning ...

"You alright Sir?" One of the few sailors on board the vessel asked. "We'll be within sight of our destination in a few minutes if this fog lets up enough ..."

"I'm fine." Komui mumbled, really not in the mood for opening his mouth.

Gremlin glared at the poor shipmate. "Don't bother Brother! Brother feeling ill."

The sailor scuttled away, probably not used to being addressed by talking reptiles, and Komui watched the horizon in hopes that something would appear to take his mind off of his ailing stomach. Within moments, a large mass appeared in the fog, slowly growing larger as they approached the coastline. And, after glaring into the fog-sheet blocking their view long enough, a large building was revealed.

Komui was impressed despite himself. It was a massive structure, built right on top of a rocky cliff facing the ocean, the spray from the waves pounding themselves against the rocks adding a salty-wet taste to the fog.

Dozens upon dozens of windows adorned all of the walls that he could see, and if he wasn't mistaken there was a large flat piece of roof around the center of the pointed pyramid-like spires that dominated the roof-space, suggesting a possible landing space for future use if it was stable enough to hold out under a full-grown dragon's weight ...

Gremlin flapped his wings atop Komui's head, settling them again against his body nervously.

Komui noticed the claws on his scalp tighten ever so slightly. "What's wrong?"

"This place like a castle ..." The green lizard said, little eyes wide.

"What's wrong with castles?" Komui asked. "We _are_ fighting a war you know. And our last Headquarters was a lot like a castle too."

The dragon looked confused. "Last home looked like a tree."

Komui felt a bit better and decided to continue the conversation. "A tree?"

"Taaaaall," Gremlin lifted a forepaw in demonstration. "And roooound, like middle of tree."

"I still don't know why you don't like castles, besides some obvious reasons." _Oh yeah, castles had knights, and knights used to slay dragons ... I think ..._

Gremlin licked his jaws, contemplating the question along with the salty tang in the air. "Castles _always_ have war inside. Only sometimes have war outside. _Everyone_ want to be King of the castle." The reptilian face twisted with worry. "Brother very close to being the King of a castle."

Komui laughed, startling the lizard. "I'm _not_ the King here. Not even close." He reassured the tiny dragon. "If anything, Inspector Malcom will be King of _this _castle."

Gremlin looked curiously down at Komui, his little face upside down because of his position on the Chief scientist's head. "Who's he?"

Komui sighed, stomach finally beginning to settle after the 'tuna-attack,' but a strange sour feeling was building up to replace the nausea he felt before, and this ill-feeling had nothing to do with food. "A very important person, so please don't bite him."

"Why would me want to bite him?"

Komui tried not to laugh. "Just a hunch ... and a lot of people usually get that impulse around him."

"Why? Does he have an ill-temper too?"

"... No." The fresh sea-spray felt nice, Komui reflected, looking into the maw of the cave mouth that opened-up before them to permit sea-side entry into the new Headquarters. "I think he became sick with something else a long time ago ..."

Gremlin looked very curious. "And? What else Brother?"

Komui shook his head sadly, and Gremlin hung doggedly onto the man's head, though Komui wasn't really trying to shake him off. He straitened up and prepared to face whatever may be waiting for him inside. "And I think it's far too late to make him even close to well again. Like a tree rotting."

Gremlin looked sad. "Rotted tree is a dead tree."

Komui had nothing to say to that. He only brushed to dust off of the shoulders of his jacket, and reached up to head to adjust his hat, only to just remember that a scaly lizard was there instead. Frowning, Komui toyed with an old thought.

"I'm starting to think you wouldn't make a very good hat ..."

Gremlin just smiled, laughing all the way down the gangplank back onto land and to their knew 'home.'

**/****DRDRDR/**

'Ask Allen.'

That's what Smudge had said.

Two hours _after_ they had gotten Speck and Isaac started with their stories.

Now why hadn't he thought of it before? It was so simple, so straightforward, so _obvious_.

Lavi wasn't really happy to have such a simple fact pointed out to him by a dragon ... a big, smart, black dragon mind you, but still a dragon. Really, he _was_ 'Bookman Jr.' here! He should of thought of just asking Allen ages ago!

Sure, the guy had been sick and unconscious and such, but that didn't mean he wasn't up for questioning ...

Lavi stopped thinking, remembered what sort of 'questioning' he had been going through right before he had last left Headquarters, shivered, then rebooted. He wasn't going to ask those types of questions, just the important things he needed to know. Like which dragon he had _really_ picked up during his adventures.

That was simple enough. Just walk up to him and ask--

Lavi jumped, just narrowly avoiding being run over by a speeding Branch Head and his assistant. Bak was chattering something about 'blood samples' and Wong wheezed behind him. They ran down the hallway, away from the infirmary and out of sight.

The red-head sighed. He continued on at a casual pace, not really in any rush. He had been looking forward to seeing how the dragons reacted to questioning ...

Deep in the 'what ifs' of the possible situations, half of which weren't even remotely possible, he stroked into the waiting room, only to find the silence there extremely unnerving.

Five people sat in the room. Three were exorcists: Lenalee, Krory, and Miranda. The other two were local scientists: Lo-Fwa and Li-Kei. No one spoke. They even seemed to be taking pains not to make eye contact with anyone else in the room. When Lavi strolled in, it almost seemed to make everyone jump from the repressed tension.

Lavi would of laughed at the doodles still on the two scientists faces, and filled the room with chatter under normal circumstances. These circumstances were far from normal.

Lavi took one look, and asked just one question. "What happened?"

The answer was even more puzzling than what he had expected. Lenalee was the one that looked him in the eye to answer. "We don't know."

He didn't even have to prompt a more detailed response when Miranda blurted out, "W-we heard screaming, and then all o-of the nurses ran inside and shut the d-door." The woman seemed far more nerve-racked than usual, and Lavi wasn't surprised.

"Who screamed?"

"I think it might have been the little girl," Krory said. "But I can't be sure."

Lavi's one free eye drifted the the locked door, muffled sounds of commotion from the inside seeping through the wooden barrier. "So, no one's going in or out?"

A collective sigh formed, breezing through the air. "No."

Lavi, worried but distracted, gave one last glance at the door before strolling right back out again. It looked like he was going to have to interrogate the dragons after all. He no longer thought of the duty as 'intriguing' or 'entertaining.' It was a job to do.

Because, as he thought about it, he realized something that should of grabbed his attention a long time ago. Why would anyone want a dragon to lie anyway? And about such an easy-to-see lie too?

He could think of only one group of humans that would want to confuse the Order on such a matter. Well, they'd want to confuse the Order about anything at all, really, if it gave them the upper hand in the War.

The Noah Clan.

Lavi turned his walk into a fast-passed march, ignoring the scared looking civilians he pasted and not really caring what could work them up so much. He already knew that Ammy and Sunny were 'sight-seeing' today. He knew most of the people here wouldn't be used to mythological beasts walking around.

Let that be the staff's problem. He had his own mess to deal with.

He wondered again. Would a dragon react the same way when lying as a person would? Would they be more open with their own kind that a human questioner?

_Would, would would would would._ Lavi mentally berated himself, his inner nag-voice sounding surprisingly like the old Panda. _Just get back and get on with it._

So he got on with it.

**/****DRDRDR/**

Mark snored, oblivious and asleep on the floor a few yards away from three chatting dragons, and not really caring about missing the conversation. All the talking they had been doing had been getting boring anyway.

Speck glanced over his shoulder at the child every once and a while, but otherwise he was left to sleep.

"It would be so much easier if you both just told me who was lying." Smudge was explaining. "Then we wouldn't have to go through all of this boring 'tail-chase-like' talking."

Speck and Isaac glanced at each other, then proclaimed in a perfect chorus: "_He's_ lying." Then they both glared at each other.

Smudge sighed. "Lavi is going to ask Allen right now anyway. It is obvious who is lying will be found out _very _soon."

Both looked at him blankly.

"I not lying." Speck said, gazing at Smudge earnestly.

The black dragon turned his gaze to Isaac. The white beast smiled at him, reptilian lips curling upwards. "So, I'm to be found out 'very soon' now am I?"

Smudge smiled back. _Finally! _"Now that wasn't so hard now was it--?"

"Me _told you_!" The speckled gray dragon said, full of exasperation. "_Me_ don't lie! Now me see Allen?"

Smudge shook his head in negative. "Mr. Lavi has to come back first."

Speck groaned. "Why?"

"Well," Smudge said seriously. "I we don't know what he wants done, besides the fact that he wants neither of you to leave the room. So you _won't_."

The gray dragon sighed again, but smiled. "Smudge good dragon ..."

"Why, thank-you." Smudge glanced at the white dragon lazily laying on the floor. "So, why _did _your chosen want you to lie?"

Isaac yawned. "She said something about 'keeping an eye' on her brother when he 'wakes up.' But I doubt he'll be doing so anytime soon. The best way for me to do that was to stick around. I obviously needed a valid reason, and since I already knew a lot about Allen--" He shrugged. "--it seemed a good enough opportunity."

Smudge and Speck shared a confused look. "Why?" Speck asked, while Smudge said in a questioning tone: "Your chosen's brother?"

Isaac grinned playfully at his kin. "Because she worries about him sometimes. Her brother really isn't really on the list of those that take particularly good care of themselves."

"Who is her brother?" Smudge asked directly.

Isaac looked surprised. "You didn't notice?"

"Notice _what_?"

"Spit out!" Speck exclaimed, not liking waiting for answers.

"The Fourteenth." Isaac said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Smudge 'oh!'-ed with clarification. "I noticed _that_. But you don't surely mean--?"

"Yes, I mean it." The white beast glaze at them both. "He is in Allen."

Smudge looked sad. "That ... is not good. Not good at all. When-- How do Noah-- What will--...?" Smudge was at a lose of what to say first.

Isaac smiled at them both. "Don't worry, _Allen_ Walker is still very much awake, and will probably be so for a long time to come." He pondered. "Though, I really don't want to have to tell my chosen that ... maybe there is a way to prod the memories into awaking ..."

Smudge was still very worried, and was about to ask just what he meant by 'awake' when Speck coughed. "Allen _staying _Allen."

It was the white creatures turn to look curious. "And just how do you know that, little Speck?"

"Allen mine," Speck said with a 'well, duh' tone. "Me made sure Allen stay Allen."

Isaac looked intrigued. "How?"

Now the small gray dragon fidgeted nervously. "Well ... me bite Allen. Speck didn't mean too!" He exclaimed quickly. "But Speck did, and it did good too! When me tried to get venom out, me see Bad Memories, so me keep venom in, so Bad Memories stay out of Allen!"

"..."

'_Okay ... what did he just say?_' Was what was going through the older dragon's minds. Isaac swatted the sleeping Mark with his tail lightly, waking the boy up.

"You, translate." He ordered.

"Ugh?" Mark asked blearily, rubbing at his eyes, trying to get the sand off of them.

"He's trying to say something important, but we don't understand, please translate." Smudge explained.

Mark yawned, stretched, and got up. "Okay Speck, what's up?"

The dragon repeated himself, going slowly and carefully. Mark listened.

After thinking for a moment Mark open his mouth and declared: "Well, I'm lost."

Isaac laughed and Smudge blinked and asked: "But you have been with Speck and Allen for a long time, surly _you_ know what he's talking about?"

"Nope. Not a clue." Mark stretched again, becoming more alert. "But, then again, Speck never seems to make much sense when talking about past or future events ..."

Isaac turned thoughtful. "So, he bit Allen in the past ..."

"Didn't mean to." Speck added.

"... and your venom can ... suppress memories ...?" Smudge guessed.

"_Bad_ Memories!"

"... and that is what is keeping my chosen's brother from 'waking up'?"

"Yes!" Speck exclaimed, quite joyful over being understood.

Isaac smacked him with a wing, effectively bowling him over. "Than all the fun I've had was for nothing!" Isaac exclaimed, while Speck picked himself up, bristling.

"That_ hurt_!" The gray dragon growled loudly.

"Well my chosen is going to be _disappointed_ with me!" Isaac growled right back. "And she was so looking forward to having her brother back after so long too ..." The white dragon moped.

Mark looked very confused. "Does ... that mean Allen really _doesn't_ have two dragons, or has he just spontaneously turn into a girl?" He said, in reference to Isaac's 'she.'

"Allen is _not_ a girl," Smudge clarified, looking shocked. "How could you think such a silly thing?!"

Mark rolled his eyes. "Says the giant talking dragon ..." The boy coughed and said with more volume, "It would have been awesome for him to have two dragons though."

"Impossible." Smudge declared.

"It would have been really cool anyway." Mark mumbled.

"Allen mine." Speck announce quite happily.

"You can keep him." Isaac said, quite good-naturedly in Smudge's opinion in comparison to the fighting that had been going on. "We'll ..." Smudge didn't like Isaac's grin. "... until he isn't himself anymore."

"Allen is staying Allen." Speck growled, glaring.

"We'll see." Isaac stretched, arching his back like a feline, and stood. "I think it would be useless to stay here any longer. Farewell!" He walked to the large double doors that were the exit.

Smudge quickly blocked him, and frowned. "You are leaving?"

"Yes," Isaac barked out a laugh. "Who knows what will be done to me here. I have chosen someone your people do not like very much, and I have lied to them. I don't think it would be very ... _healthy_ for me to stay."

Smudge understood, but didn't agree. Mr. Lavi had told him to keep all dragons in the room, and that's exactly what he was going to do. The black dragon slid between Isaac and the door, and so did the smaller 'speck.'

Speck glared, quite ready to attack. "Liars never prosper." He said with surprising clarity.

Isaac grinned back. "They never proper ... only when they're _caught._" With that, the white dragon jumped to the door, but not before smashing the large Smudge on the bottom of his jaw with an ear-cracking tail-slap. The scale plating on the bottom of the dragons jaw is just a bit thinner than in other places, making it a brilliant place for a blow like that, ultimately sending Smudge to the ground, dazed, and almost squashing Speck under the force of the larger dragon's bulk.

He quickly pushed opened the large and heavy door, only to pause in astonishment. There, leaning on the outside wall, was Lavi. The exorcist was wearing such a look that Isaac was sure that he had been listening to the whole conversation.

The dragon smiled. The exorcist stared with a cold, emotionless look.

"Thank-you for the food and company. But, as you undoubtedly know, I must be going."

Lavi continued to glare.

Isaac knew there was nothing the human could do, the apprentice Bookman didn't have his innocence. He slid out of the room, stepping into the hallway.

Mark ran out past him, surprising both Isaac and Lavi, before ignoring them both and darting in the direction of the infirmary. Issac snorted. "_Hatchlings_." He voiced in a dismissive tone, turning down the opposite hallway, intending to leave.

Well, he _had_ intended too anyway. As it turned out, a certain pony-tailed exorcists stood there ...

"Kanda!" Smudge cried out joyfully, sticking his head out the door behind Isaac, rubbing tenderly at his sore jaw. "_There_ you are--!"

"Were you just going to sit there and let him walk out the door?" It was on of the longest sentences Kanda had ever said to him. Smudge nodded slowly, ashamed to confirm that he had failed in his given mission. "Che." The samurai drew his sword.

Isaac smiled yet again. "Oh, does this all have to end in violence ...?"

Kanda answered by charging, and Smudge quickly ran fully out of the room to cover Isaac's rear and escape. Speck poked his head out but stayed within the chamber they had all been occupying before, perhaps sensing he would only get in the way of the coordinated attack.

Isaac, white dragon that had chosen a Noah, was still smiling.

Well, it seemed it _would_ all end in violence ...

The beast stood his ground and prepared himself for the coming assault, grin going wider as he watched the exorcists activate his weapon on the run and felt the air stir behind him as the black dragon moved to block his back.

_And what a violent end it will be_, Isaac pondered before unleashing a battle-roar that shook the very facility to its stone core--

**/****DRDRDR/**

It was weird. She had been talking, laughing, complaining about green vegetables, and then she had been bleeding. And screaming.

Everyone had panicked.

The nurses swarmed into the room, grabbing several medical tubes and needles, the doctor ordering the shutting and locking of the door as they set to work like a small hive of bees, buzzing and hovering frantically around the girl.

Even Howard looked surprised. At least, he looked surprised from the angle Allen saw him at. He could only see so much, and he couldn't see _anything_ on Val's end of the screen. But from what the nurses and doctor said, he quickly figured out what had sent them all into a state of furious activity.

She had begun bleeding.

From her _eyes_.

And they had absolutely no idea why.

**/****DRDRDR/**

There was blood on the walls. And on the floor. There was even some on the incredibly high ceiling.

Well, that's what you get when you have a couple of giant, _winged_, creatures battling in a very enclosed space.

Kanda was watching like a hawk from the ground, innocence activated to Double Illusion Blade, waiting for a the target to come within striking distance. He didn't have to wait long. Smudge was constantly forcing Isaac to go lower, aiming for the white dragon's fragile wings from his higher position.

Kanda leapt at the precise moment Isaac was close to the ground, rebounded off of the wall for a higher jump, and landed squarely on Isaac's back. Using both swords, he mercilessly cut into the wing-joints on the beasts back.

With a pain-fulled scream, the dragon was painfully grounded, falling at lease ten yards to the ground. Smudge circled in for a landing, hesitating in giving away his superior position above the enemy. Kanda jumped off of the wounded beast, before de-activating his blood-covered innocence and sheathing his sword. He ignored the fact that he was covered in gore himself.

"Done? So soon?" Isaac said through clenched jaws, slowly coming to his feet. His wings hung limply, trailing to the floor and dripping bright red blood. His front arm was clutched to vis chest, as if from an injury on the landing.

"You're not going anywhere." Kanda pointed out. Smudge landed, watching the other beast closely for any hostile movement.

"Are you sure?" After all that, the creature still had the gall to smile.

Kanda took one glance at the bloodied body before him and "Che."-ed dismissively.

Isaac smiled all the wider.

Smudge frowned thoughtfully, rustling his still unfurled wings nervously. "Kanda--"

The samurai turned his gaze to the black dragon, and Smudge took that as the cue to start talking.

"--I do not think we will be able to hold him here for long."

Kanda continued to glare.

Smudge blinked. "He has chosen a very strong human. You call them ... '_Noahs_?'"

Isaac tried to lick at his bleeding wing-joints, but they were to far for his tongue to reach, so he settled for codling his right arm instead.

Smudge continued, "And if I am right, his chosen may come to get him--"

Lavi glanced curiously at the stains on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Isaac was creating quite a few puddles of dragon blood where he was standing, ignoring the conversation and trying to judge whether his arm was broken or sprained.

"--And that may be a _very_ bad situation for those who live here."

"Ya know Yuu-chan, Smudgy does have a point." Lavi said, overlooking the damage done to all parties. Isaac was by far the worst off, and Smudge only ad a few scratches. Kanda, though covered in blood, seemed fine, judging by the strength of his glare. "We may want to warn Bak of the possibilities."

Isaac, having determined his arm was broken in at least two places, turned to them with his now-customary smile. "Oh, no need to get yourselves worked up. She is already on her way."

Kanda glared at him and Lavi asked: "She who?" Already narrowing down the possible Noahs.

Just by the 'she' Lavi could tell that it was either Rhode or Lulubell. His thoughts grew grim. Both of them would be able to get into the Headquarters easily without raising the alarm. Far to easily.

Or ... it could even be one of the other thirteen. God knew they didn't have nearly enough information to identify each and every Noah out there yet--

"Why, I'm surprised you've forgotten about her Mr. Bookman Junior. You two did play once before, and she's told me just how much fun _you_ are to play with."

Lavi flinched. That nailed it. If there was only one Noah he knew that would call fighting with an exorcist 'fun' and 'play,' it would be Rhode Camelot. And if Rhode was on her way ...

Lavi did a quick screen of the hallway, looking for an overly decorated heart-shaped doorway in ever corner. He didn't see one.

Smudge was gazing at Isaac, and Speck had come out of the room now that the battle was over. "Can me see Allen _now_?"

Lavi shook his head in a negative. "The infirmary's closed up, no one's going in or out."

Speck sighed, and looked at Isaac. "You caught."

Isaac twitched his tail dismissively, as it would have of been to painful for him to shrug with his wing joints injured as they were. "Not for long."

Smudge looked to Kanda. "So, how are we to keep him in place?"

The dark-haired samurai opened his mouth, about to speak, when the floor under Isaac's feet somehow ceased to be floor anymore. In fact, it was now a large, red, heart-shaped door, slowly opening--

Smudge lunged forward, almost to fast for even the two exorcists to see, and clamped into Isaac's quickly falling figure. To be more precise, he bite right onto the white dragon's tail and _held on_. Not the smartest thing Smudge has ever done, as the other dragon's weight (plus gravity, remember the door was in the floor) began to pull _him_ down into the opening in space.

Speck, not one to let them both fall threw the hole, quickly grabbed onto Smudge's tail with _his_ teeth, though God knows what was going through that little dragons mind as _all _of them were slowly beginning to slide down, down, down--

And then, against all odds, the sliding stopped. For a moment. In that moment both Lavi and Kanda rushed forward, about to try _anything_ to pull all of the beasts back, including grab on themselves, when the calvary arrived.

Lenalee and Krory seemed to run into the situation out of nowhere, both grabbing on for dear life next to Lavi and Kanda.

"Hey," Lavi greeted, grinding his teeth in the effort of trying to pull something several times his weight and size. "Come to join the party? Aw ... you didn't bring any cake ..."

"Lavi, I do not think this is the time for jokes--" Krory grunted, his own innocence giving him super-human strength, making him one of the ones working hardest at the moment.

Smudge was half-way in the hole, back claws scrabbling at the tiled floor, trying to get some purchase to try to climb back out again. Just as the exorcists started pulling harder, actually reversing the falling process, there was a yelp from the hole and a few tons of weight were removed from the equation, making the pulling-back-up considerably easier to do.

They saw why once they pulled Smudge all the way back up, as his jaws were no longer around the white dragon's tail and his face sported quite a few sharpened candles that had been thrown at him. Although the black dragon looked like a very colorful, wax-made porcupine had slapped him, he seemed no worse for ware, and none of the projectiles had gotten into his eyes.

The poor dragon looked horribly sad though.

"I tried to hang on." He said as the exorcists went about the job of pulling all of the birthday candles out of his face. He winced as Krory pulled out one particularly close to his eye. "But the little girl threw all of these _things _at me, and it _hurt_." He looked apologetically at Kanda with one great, big, dragon eye. "I'm sorry I let him get away ..."

Kanda just rolled his eyes with a: "Che." Before pulling out another candle stuck deep into Smudge's muzzle.

Speck whined. "Sorry me bit tail." There were quite a few holes _there_ now too.

"It is okay," Smudge reassured him. "I am really glad I did not fall into the hole." He looked around at those who had made sure he hadn't gotten pulled all the way in. "Thank-you _all_, very much so."

"Hey, that's what friends are for!" Lavi said quite cheerfully. "Though you _could_ stand to lose a few pounds." His eye glinted with mischief. "Kanda, I don't think you're feeding your dragon properly."

"..." Kanda wasn't really paying attention. He was trying to clean some of the more prominent gore off of his sword and onto his thoroughly-bloodstained jacket.

"Yeah. He seems to be a little ... heavy."

"..." The blood always seemed to be hardest to scrub off at the hilt ... and it wasn't very easy spotting dark-red liquid on a black sword you know. You have to get the light to shine on it and spot were the light didn't shine back.

"Mr. Lavi, are you calling me overweight?" Smudge asked calmly, licking at the bleeding holes in his face with his long tongue.

"Yup."

"Oh." Lick at face.

"..." Scrub at sword.

"I'm going to the library now." Lavi announced, very put-down by the lack of reaction.

Lenalee and Krory looked from Lavi's retreating back to Kanda, to Smudge, to Speck, then back again; feeling very out-of-the-loop.

"I'll ... go tell Bak." Lenalee quickly excused herself and was off. Krory, undoubtedly feeling a bit nervous alone with two dragons, also excused himself on behalf of his stomach, and jogged away in the direction of the kitchens.

Smudge had finished cleaning the wounds on his face and was going for the teeth-holes on his tail when Speck mentioned quietly, "Not three?"

The black dragon gazed at him questioningly. "Three?"

"People. Lee-na-lee, Kro-ry, and Me-ran-duh?"

Smudge blinked. "Oh, yes. Miss Miranda probably stayed at the infirmary, since she is not here."

Speck slowly looked around at the stains now decorating the hallway. "Blood lots."

"Yes." Smudge said absentmindedly, now concentrating on the puncture wounds that were still bleeding.

"Isaac lost."

"Oh no, he's probably with his chosen right now, getting himself cleaned up."

"Allen getting better."

"Of course. That is what he was brought here for."

"Mark worried."

"Well, his sister is sick. I would be worried to if Kanda were sick."

"Isaac still want Allen."

Smudge stopped licking. "Why do you say that?"

"Because his girl wants Allen."

"His girl?"

"She poked holes in face."

"Oh, _that_ girl." Smudge licked thoughtfully at the wounds still present but closing quickly.

"She want Allen, so _'Saac_ want Allen."

"Well ..." Smudge tried to say it correctly. "... she is a Noah. A 'revived' memory. Allen has a Noah memory too. So, she just wants the memory, not 'Allen' per-say."

"They want to kill Allen." Speck whimpered, and Smudge quickly saw the error of continuing the conversation on this route.

"No! They just want ... to ... uh." He tried again. "A memory cannot_ kill_ someone."

"'Not?" Speck echoed.

"No. Memories ... are a humans makeup. They ... are what makes a human an individual, what gives them their own personality. More memories only change a person's personality _slowly_. And they cannot change the core of who a person is."

"Core?"

"Center. Soul. Self."

"Oh." Speck pondered for a moment. "So ... memories not _hurt_ Allen? Not kill Allen?"

"Well ... I don't know. How many memories are we talking about?" Smudge asked, remembering that, right now, Speck was somehow suppressing them.

"Many." Speck said, then thought again. "Many ... knowing memories. Few feeling too."

This all went over Smudges head. Knowing? Feeling? "What does that mean?"

Speck suddenly looked very happy. "Me go wait. See Allen with Mark." And so, he trotted away.

"Wait!" Shaking himself down(adding a few more drops of blood to the floor), Smudge jogged after the smaller dragon. Maybe the nurses at the infirmary would have some dragon-sized bandages anyway.

**/****DRDRDR/**

Miranda Lotto, exorcist and 'chosen' of Sunny, was very depressed at the moment. She had been following Lenalee and Krory after Mark had run into the infirmary waiting room, huffing and puffing out the details of Isaac's attempt at escape, and they had all been gone to help the others to detain the dragon.

Well, Miranda had_ tried_ to go help. She had run as fast as she could, but she was no match for both Lenalee and Krory, who were running as fast as their innocence could take them. And that was pretty fast.

After the two had pulled out of eyesight, Miranda realized something. She didn't know where to go. Lenalee had been the one leading, and know that she was far ahead, along with Krory, that left Miranda a bit ... lost. Very lost.

Okay, totally without a clue.

So, what does Miranda do? She decides to wonder around until she finds someone to give her directions. Simple enough. Except that the first person she sees runs by without a word, and seemingly ignores her. The second person does the same thing. And the third. And the fourth, fifth ...

Miranda decides to head where the people are running from, just to see if that leads her to a populated area with people that would actually speak to her. So, she walks. It really doesn't take long to find what the people are running from.

"Miranda!" Sunny cheers, Ammy right behind her. "Have you seen the libraries this place has! Or the people? Or the floors? Or the doors? Or the--"

"Do you happen to know where they keep the food?" Ammy demanded. "I am quite peckish."

A few people on the third floor hallway/balcony make sounds like half-strangled screams of despair.

"Y-yes, there is a cafeteria," Miranda told her. "B-but I'm afraid I have become a little lost ..."

"Down the hall and to the left!" Some person yelled, apparently from their room on the second floor.

"Why, thank-you!" Sunny returned, and the strange group began moving. "I daresay, these people are strange. I haven't seen _one _without it running away after!"

"I believe they think we are going to eat them." Ammy commented.

"Oh! But I would not! They would probably taste like dirt, if their smell is anything to go by." Then Sunny hastily added, "But not you Miranda! You are probably the cleanest human here!"

"Oh, I'm probably not ..." Miranda denied.

"But you are!"

"Oh, no I'm not ..."

"Are!"

"Not ..."

"Are!"

"I'm really not ..."

"Are!"

**/****DRDRDR/**

_My eyes hurt. It's not a burning, or stinging sensation. It's more like an ache really ..._

"Bandages! Get me more bandages! It's bleeding through!"

_It feels like something is trying to ooze it's way out of me ... like in one of those fantasy novels ..._

"Doctor she's still bleeding!"

_It's not trying to hurt me, it's just trying to get out ..._

"Val!"

_That was Allen ... I hope this doesn't look too gruesome ... oh, well. He probably can't see past the screen anyway ..._

"Doctor, the blood--!"

_It's out._ That's when Val fainted.

**/****DRDRDR/**

Pace, pace, pace, turn, pace, pace, pace, turn--

"Kid, can you please stop that? You're making me dizzy just looking at you." Li-Kei complained.

Pace, pace, pace, turn--

"Leave him alone Li, can't you see he's worried out of his mind?" Lo-Fwa defended.

Pace, pace, pace, turn--

"It's not healthy, and it's still making me dizzy."

Pace, pace, pace, turn--

"It's his sister in there!"

Pace, pace, pace, turn--

"Fine ..."

Pace, pace, pace, stop.

In the silence, you could her the door unlock with a soft 'click.' The doctor poked his head out hesitantly, as if expecting someone to try and cut it off the second he stuck it out. Spotting nothing resembling an ax or sword, he came out all the way. He spotted Mark.

"I think you should see this."

Mark was in and the door was shut again before you could say 'let me in too!' And believe me, Lo-Fwa tried.

The scientists sighed and settled into their chairs once more.

Mark, on the other hand, was astounded. His sister looked fine, beside the bandages being removed from her eyes. And even then, there was no sign of blood or gore or anything alarming. That is, until he spotted the basin filled with the red liquid.

"What happened?" Was all he could find the words to say.

"She started bleeding from her eyes," The doctor said quickly. "And after a large amount had bled out, the bleeding stopped."

"Why?" It seemed the only logical question.

"We're not really sure--" The doctor began, "--but the blood has been acting very strangely--"

As if the emphasis the point, the blood in the basin solidified, as if flash-frozen on the spot. It looked like red crystal ...

But it didn't stop there. As the nurses made sure to stay well away from the unstable substance, it slowly gathered itself into a ball, forming a spherical shape, before the dark red began to turn lighter.

Mark was pretty sure the doctor said "What the hell--?" Just before the stuff settled into the form of a pearly white egg the size of a baseball. Looking remarkably, Mark noted, like the same egg his sister had eaten a few months ago, just before she had gotten sick.

_Oh ... duh ..._

That's when it all made a bit more sense.

END 10.

**BAD NEWS/AN**: Hey. Yup, that was it, and I'm strangely not very happy with it ...

Bad news is that I won't be updating for a while ... anywhere from weeks to months ... yeah,months. So don't be looking for a new chapter anytime soon, I haven't written them yet.

The reason for this? Well, because the plot has split into **three** loudly screaming** heads** that are all demanding attention RIGHT NOW and all my homework is **eating** my brain RIGHT NOW and home life is very **strange** RIGHT NOW.

That's a little too much for a 16-year-old to deal with at once if ya know what I mean ... so I'm going to wrestle with the plot until it only has one head again, valiantly fight back my homework before it takes over my mind, and try not to let my **sister** eat me.

Thanks for sticking with me, and i hope you'll all be a bit patient as I work out how to do fanfiction and real life at the same time again ...

Oh, and Gremlin sayz hi.

-knux33


	11. White IsSacred

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

11. **White Is-Sac/red**

_Isaac what hast thou seen?_

"_An apple on my head,"_

_Said he,_

"_And the beginning, of gravity."_

"Rhode?" A voice called. "Rhode?"

No answer.

Isaac sighed, and tried moving his once-broken arm. It was stiff, and ached, but was movable. He tried to do the same with his wings. Both opened and closed without protest. Time in the dream-world Rhode had set aside for him had done wonders on his battered body, and he was glad to be home again.

But he did wish he could see Rhode more often.

He hated how his chosen had to go to the 'school,' 'balls,' and 'social events.' Human were such strange things, with even stranger customs ...

He moved from his nest of pillows and stuffed animals, looking for the door Rhode had left just in case he wanted to go outside to eat something. Or some_one_. She always seemed particularly joyful when he brought back a human morsel, alive, for her to play with. And he still got to eat them afterwards, which was a real treat.

But not many people dared to venture into the mountainous region where Rhode had opened the dream-door to, so human snacks were scarce. Secretly, Isaac was glad he didn't get the chance to eat too many people. It just seemed a little wrong to eat something that _knew_ the workings of the world, and had a mind. But, of course, that problem was solved when he brought them to Rhode.

When she was done with them, there was near to nothing left of the mind. Then it became a pile of meat to be swallowed before it rotted, and Isaac was quite content to feast on those.

He nudged the checkered heart-door open, and stepped into the snow. One good thing about his lack of color, the dragon noted, was that he could become invisible in terrain like this. The downside of such white scales, of course, was that fact that he was painfully visible in any other area. But, at least he didn't have to worry about that _here_.

He slid through the frozen liquid blanketing the thin forest and jutting rocks on the side of the mountain, utilizing his belly, as it was smarter to act more like a snake in the snow and glide along quietly instead of marching through on all four feet and scaring everything within a mile away.

Isaac thought about flying, now that his wings had healed, but dismissed the motion. No _animals_ would care about a large flying creature above, the dragons had been gone from this world for too long for them to remember. But, the _humans_ were another story. They did not just remember to fear, they lived their lives based off of the emotion.

They lived clustered together, cramped and hostile but unwilling to leave the group. At night they lit artificial lights, and slept in small, stuffy rooms. When something went 'bump' in the night, they lay, paralyzed by fear and pulled the covers closer, praying for dawn or sleep to come faster.

But--

Isaac reminded himself.

--there _were_ exceptions. Few, but they existed. The foolhardy that dared to venture into these mountains for example. They came, with only cloth, small tents, and a few necessities for survival, trusting their own instincts and common sense to help them survive. Of course, common sense usually tells humans to stay near home, and not to go on such foolhardy adventures. So, in Isaac's opinion, all those he saw here were the defuncts of an otherwise cowardly species.

But, it was because of those very throwbacks that he would not fly. Humans were often smart enough to stay hidden when in sight of a large predator, even the stupid ones, and with all of the nooks and cranny's on his mountain Isaac wanted to make sure no rumors escaped about a 'white dragon in the mountains.'

Sure, the whispers would bring more idiots for him to eat, but it would most probably bring exorcists as well, and Rhode didn't want that. Well, at least not yet anyway.

He ghosted through the snow and pulled his concentration back to finding Breakfast, which was either going to be reindeer or musk ox, and payed close attention to the smells in the air, and tracks on the ground.

_Breakfast, what a funny word ..._

Yes, Isaac began to believe he would never fully understand people and their habits, but he would still have Rhode, and that was all he wanted.

Well, that, and whatever _she _wanted.

**//DRDRDR//**

"She ate a ... _dragon_ egg?" Doctor Alter was at a loss. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the concept. Dragon eggs were not covered in the book of standard doctor know-how.

Mark was about ready to start pulling out his own hair at the moment, and not just because the doctor was acting particularly thick at the moment. It was because all of the weeks of Val's steadily decreasing health, the hopeless look she had first gotten in her eyes when she realized her legs weren't working properly anymore, was _his fault_.

He had been hunting around the beach near the port, looking for anything edible, and had found an egg. A _big_ egg. A wonderfully large and easy-to-get egg. Well, almost ...

**//FLASHBACK//**

Waves crashed on the surf, masking the growling of a thirteen-year-olds empty stomach. He had been looking for sea-bird nests, or maybe even something else that looked remotely like a good lunch. Or Breakfast. Or Supper. Or a good substitute for all three.

Yesterday, both he and his sister hadn't been able to find anything in the local recked buildings of trash heps, so today, they had split their forces. Val was looking in the more populated areas of the city today, trying her hand at pickpocketing and scouring through the 'fresher' trash heaps. This was a risky job, and of the two only Val had the fast feet and reflexes needed for it.

Mark always hated to admit that his sister, his _younger_ sister, was quite superior to him in most ways. Speed, smarts, charm, _always_ able to get what she wants, a schemer, and she had always been Mom and Dad's favorite ...

But ... their parents were dead now, so that last bit didn't really matter ...

He sighed, and looked along the coast again. He was high up on the dunes, where large rocks, tall, thick grasses and bushes blocked most of the possible paths forward. But, it was in this dense area where Mark hoped to find a few crab holes, or a bird's nest. He didn't know if seagulls laid their eggs on the ground near the coast, or if _anything_ laid their eggs along the coast for that matter, but he knew had had to try to find _something_.

He irritably scratched at his legs. The strong, wind-blown sand both stung and irritated his exposed skin, and was probably why no one else was on this beach today, besides the fact that most of the nearby inhabitants were still rebuilding their homes.

Well, all the better for him. Looking down, he realized he saw something small and fast moving along the sand.

A crab. A rare and mouth-watering sight for the daylight, as the crustaceans usually didn't leave their homes until sunset.

The small creature was scuttling sideways as fast as its little legs would take it, bolting for its hole somewhere in the dunes above the tide line. Mark leaped after it, and was soon hot in pursuit. The little thing was surprisingly fast for a small-fry, and Mark had trouble in both chasing it and avoiding the bushes that got in the way.

It wasn't very surprising when the dirty-blond haired boy found himself out of breath, without a crab, and quite a ways from the ocean. His feet, which had been without a decent pair of shoes for quite a while, ached.

He gave up on finding his elusive quarry, turned to head back to the beach, and promptly tripped on a protruding root.

Que: face-first fall into a bush, rebounding somersault into sand, then frantic sputtering to get sand _out_ of mouth, and disgusted exclamations at how gritty it tastes on tongue.

Mark was _really_ glad no one had seen that ...

By the time he had gotten up again, Mark realized there wasn't an inch of him _anywhere_ without sand on it. Ugh, he was going to go through hell trying to get it all out of his clothing. His only still-decent clothing anyway, as the rest had been discarded after being covered in grime or ripped beyond use.

He picked himself up and dusted everything off the best he could, though the sand seemed to be sticking quite stubbornly when he saw a gleam of white peeking out from underneath the bush he tripped over. Curious, he paused in his de-sanding and bent down, aiming for a good look at it.

Lucky for him, it wasn't some long-forgotten bone of some other creatures' snack, but an egg! And it was _huge_!

_Just wait until Val sees this thing! It must-of been laid by-- by an ostrich or something! _He snagged it, grinning from ear to ear. _I bet this beats everything she finds by two-fold!_

Of course, he would leave out the part where he tripped. He'd just say he found it under a bush after chasing a crab, that was truth enough.

When he got back to where they had agreed to meet a few hours later, Mark found his sister waiting with a small slab of ham clutched in her grubby fingers. Well scratch the hope that he had found something better than her, ham beat eggs in Mark's book.

Val grinned at him. "So, what'd you find Mr-Sand-King?"

Mark ruefully tried to rub some of the extra grit on one arm while showing off his catch with the other. "I found an ostrich egg."

"_Sweet_. Where do we fry it?"

It took the better part of what was left of the afternoon to find an abandoned house with a good-old fashioned stove that they could pop some wood in to start it. With that and a frying pan, Mark quickly decided to make scrambled egg and cracked the thing open.

The shell was surprisingly hard, and Mark had to hit it as hard as he could to make a crack, but soon had the contents spilling into the pan anyway. Then, he got another surprise. The egg yolk was green.

Val was hovering over his shoulder during the entire process, and eyed the substance doubtfully. "Are eggs normally supposed to be green on the inside?"

"Don' know." Mark mumbled, concentrating on using a stolen fork to scramble the substance. "But I'll eat it if you won't."

"No way!" She exclaimed with a glare. "Eggs are my favorite and I know you love ham. You're getting the meat, and I'm getting the eggs that I love."

He frowned but continued stirring until the eggs were done, removing the frying pan from the stove and putting out the fire. The food looked okay ... relatively. He was getting really bad vibes about feeding it to his sister, but before he could even voice his complaints his sister grabbed the pan and fork, shoveling the food in her open mouth. He looked at the forgotten slab of ham and felt his stomach.

Oh yeah, hunger.

The empty feeling had become such a constant companion by now that he had almost forgotten about it. Grabbing the meat, he dug into it, quite forgetting about the green egg yolk and concentrating on making sure his body didn't start eating itself to contemplate for the lack of food.

A few days later, Val had gotten sick. Soon, when her temperature was clearly lingering in the highs longer that it should, she was no longer able to walk without assistance. Mark had to find food on his own, or with her on his back. After that, they had met the cheerful and unique Allen Walker.

/**/END-FLASHBACK//**

And now, they were here.

And the ostrich egg had really been a dragon egg.

And it was his fault for finding the damn thing and feeding it to his sister.

Mark sat next to his sister's bed and sighed, glancing once and a while at the white orb placed by her bed on another chair, balance perilously on some of the flat pillows they used in the infirmary. Somehow, he wished he could blame the egg instead of himself, but he knew that would be unfair.

It's not like it jumped out and screamed 'Eat me!' at him. It had been sitting there in the sand, hiding under the bush, probably trying its hardest _not _to be eaten, and he had gone and scrambled it!

Man ... things were messed up. Mark put his head in his hands and tried to make as much sense of the situation that a thirteen-year-old boy could, and found he couldn't make much sense of it at all.

All he knew was that he had fed his sister a dragon, it had made her sick, and now that the dragon egg was out again, she was better.

Really, she was. Her temperature had finally gone back down, and her cheeks were slowly gaining a healthier pinkish color. As much as everything else infuriated him, this one fact made Mark feel at least slightly better.

"Can I get up now?" He heard Allen ask from the other end of the screen placed in the room between to beds. The nurses here seemed very passionate about keeping the invalid in bed, though he sounded better to Mark and no longer needed extra warmth to keep his body temperature up. The poison had run its course, and Allen was better again. The exorcist just needed to wait for his shoulder to heal itself.

Mark was staring to get tired of hearing the teens voice but not being able to see him, and really hoped the nurses would removed the screens soon. He voiced his opinion to the doctor scratching his head quizzically and Allen quickly agreed from his side of the 'wall.'

The doctor nodded, and stated that they would remove the screens later. Dr. Alter then went back to trying to wrap his head around the unpredictability of innocence while marveling at Val's obvious health improvement.

He _really_ should of taken that job in America ... this was all way too crazy.

A shriek came from the door way outside. Mark twisted his head around and Allen was halfway out of his bed (nurses trying to stop him or not) before the strangled yelp of "D-d-d-_dragons_!" stopped them both.

Just dragons? Okay then, no problem. Mark went out to calm down whoever was panicking and Allen let the nurses throw him back in bed.

**//DRDRDR//**

Speck was quite sorry he had startled the people in the room. He was even sorrier he couldn't fit his whole body into the small space between himself and Allen. Smudge was currently trying to pull him back out because ... well ...

Speck had gotten himself a little ... _stuck_ ... when he had wedged himself in the door frame ...

"Next time, you _do not_ go stuffing yourself into places to-small for you to fit in!" Smudge grunted, pulling at specks back legs with his own arms.

"Sorry Smudge," Speck whined, wincing when the small lady spoke again.

"D-d-d-d-d--" Lo-Fwa stuttered.

"Speck!" Mark exclaimed, coming in on the situation. "Get your face outta here!"

"Speck trying." Speck said, wiggling a bit in another attempt to get loose. "Me stuck."

Mark groaned. "And if my sister bleeding eggs wasn't enough--"

"Oh?" Smudges voice was muffled, but heard. "I was under the impression that at a certain age it was quite normal for human females to bleed an egg out once a mouth if it was not fertilized."

Lo-Fwa stopped stuttering, and turned a very unique shade of red. Li-Kei, currently as far way from the gray dragon's jaws as possible, also blushed, looking like he was trying very hard to not think about what had been said. Mark looked in disbelief at the wall by Speck, as if he was trying to see Smudge through the stone.

"Don't speak of such things!" Mark exclaimed.

"Why?" Smudge continued pulling at Specks legs, but the gray dragon was wedged in tight.

"J-just don't!"

"But you were talking about it--"

"Not I wasn't!" Mark yelling, red himself. "I was talking about the _dragon egg_ that bled out of her _eyeballs_!"

A stunned silence followed the statement.

"Your sister ... had a _dragon_ egg ... _in_ her?" Smudge sounded quite stunned.

Even Speck looked surprised. "Girl lay egg?" He pondered. "Girl ... chicken?"

"No!" Mark shook his head violently. "She ate an egg, see? And it must-of been a dragon egg, 'cause it made her sick, and now that its out she's better, and no _normal_ eggs come back out after they've been eaten."

Li-Kei rubbed his head, as if he had a headache. Lo-Fwa looked stunned.

Speck nodded, clarification clear. "Oh! Girl-Val ate egg, and egg now out! Speck see, Speck see!"

It was at that point that Smudge finally yanked Speck out of the door frame with a strange sort-of '_scrape_' sound as Speck's scales rubbed the wrong way against the wood and stone of the frame and doors.

Speck turned out to be fine, but the frame now looked like several cats had decided to test their claws on it.

Smudge sighed, and carefully poked his now-mostly-healed head a little ways inside, careful not to get stuck where his throat connected to his shoulders, like Speck had. "Speck is wondering if he could see Mr Allen, please."

Mark sighed. "If the nurses let him out, Speck can see Allen."

A cheerfully cry was heard from outside.

"_If_," Mark reminded with a yell. "And _only_ if, the nurses let him out."

"Allen, Allen, Allen--" Speck sang quite happily. "--Speck get-see Allen--"

Mark rolled his eyes.

"How_ did _your sister come to eat a dragon egg, child-Mark?" Smudge asked, eyes glowing white. "They are not very common in this world."

"Uh ..." _I fed it to her_. Mark left the last bit unsaid, and revised it. "We found it, and she ate it. We were starving at the time ya' know." He added in 'a-matter-of-fact' tone.

"Did your parents not feed you well?" Smudge asked, quite curious. He had not seen much parent-hatchling activity, and was wondering just how the human race had become so populated if the parents did not take care of their children.

Mark glared, and Smudge noted that Kanda's glares were much more passionate. Compared to the samurai's heated looks, this one seemed flat. "They're dead."

"Oh ... _oh_." Smudge realized he had just said something very rude, and so did Speck.

"Smudge shouldn't say things bad." The gray pointed out.

"I am sorry." Smudge said to Mark, then pulled his head out to tell Speck, "And I did not mean to say anything bad. I did not _know _his parents were dead."

"Smudge _should_. Smudge knows _lots_."

"But I don't know everything!"

Speck pondered this statement. He decided to simply repeat: "Smudge knows lots." In a determined tone.

Mark sighed at them and marched back into the infirmary, shutting the door behind him. It was about this time that Lo-Fwa realized the door had been _open_, and she hadn't gone in.

Li-Kei rolled his eyes at her angry sputtering and tapped her on the shoulder. Before her rage could be properly channeled in his direction, the tall teen pointed out that it was Breakfast time, and they hadn't even eaten dinner the night before.

As if to agree, her stomach made a little gurgle. The pig-tailed girl blushed.

Speck's stomach answered in a small roar, and the gray dragon looked quizzically at the named body part, as if to ask 'What?'

Smudge laughed good-naturedly. "Maybe we should all have Breakfast then."

Speck looked like he was about to object, obviously wanting to wait for Allen to come out, but Smudge quickly added, "And Speck can bring back something for Allen and everyone else that is unwell."

The speckled gray dragon looked very happy with his 'job' and was quite willing to go eat after that. Li-Kei watched the creature flit about in the hallway, jumping around in a hop/skip looking quite happy with the world and wondered how he could of ever been scared of it. Him. Speck was a 'him,' and so was Smudge. Li-Kei, as most scientists would, wondered how anyone could tell, with no obvious signs of gender ...

**//DRDRDR//**

The cook was scared.

Very scared.

And exhausted.

Why?

Because there were two dragons in the lunch line. Both had already eaten the designated food Lenalee had already ordered for them, and were now asking for more. A_ lot _more. And--

_By all that is holy_-- The cook thought dismally.

There were two more beasts! TWO! Walking right in, and getting in line, chatting quite happily with the two already there.

Orange, yellow, black, and gray. Four dragons. All hungry. All in _his_ lunch line.

"Um ... excuse me?" The young scientist in the front of the line asked.

The cook was quite dazed. "What?"

"Could I have some oatmeal? For breakfast?" The mid-sized teen with bowl-cut black hair asked as if repeating himself, which he probably was.

"Yes, yes, of course--" There are dragons in the lunch line.

Within moments Shifu had his food and made his way to a table. He stopped briefly to glance at the large mythical creatures in the room, before moving on. He decided that he was more sleep deprived than he himself had originally thought, and moved on.

Then Ammy got to the small window in the wall connecting to the kitchen and looked down at the cook with one, large, dragon eye. The cook gulped.

"I would like several pounds of herring. Properly spiced and seasoned. No heads." Each addition sound more like an order instead of a request, and the cook asked himself if this job was worth it ...

"Oh, oh! I would like something pretty to look at and good to eat please!" Sunny chattered from behind.

"I'll just have some meat. Any kind is fine, as long as it's not too slimy." Smudge called forward.

"Meat!" Speck chirped, echoing Smudge's request.

The cook looked back into the kitchen, to make sure the rest of the staff had heard the request. The rest of the kitchen workers looked backed at him uneasily, shuffling their feet and looking at the amounts of food they had currently on stock. Hopefully, it would be enough.

He faced the gluttons head on and replied: "A moment, for us to prepare the food, if you will?" The sentence was scrambled, and he sounded like a butler, but the Head Cook did not care. He was trying not to squeal like a mouse faced with four cats. Four, _hungry_ cats.

"Oh, then we shall wait." Smudge declared, moving out into the main hallway where there was more room. The other three followed, Sunny and Ammy chatting. Speck was glancing curiously at passing people, but trailing behind Smudge for the most part.

The Black was better a knowing-what-to-do better than he was. At least, when it came to people. The small, two-legged creatures had a strange society, and Speck really didn't understand why they did what they did most of the time, but he liked most of them.

Especially Allen. His Allen was wonderful, and perfect, and almost always made sense.

He hoped he could see Allen soon ... then they could find 'Home' like Allen had wanted to.

The last Home had been the wrong one, but Allen was sure to find the right one next time ...

Maybe it would be a nice place.

**//DRDRDR//**

Isaac licked his jaws, wiping the last trace of reindeer blood from his face; a dragons tongue being far more efficient than any napkin. Looking into the sky, he saw the sun rising ever higher, and turned to make his way back to Rhode's door. He walked through the snow, not caring about scaring away any of the animals now that his appetite was sated.

But even in the tremendous sound he was making, he 'heard' and 'saw' the akuma long before it reached him. It was one of Rhode's current 'favorites,' and Isaac did not even try to hide his distaste at the vile being trotting up the snowy hill to meet him halfway, somehow spoiling the pure, white snow with its presence alone.

And this one was only on the third stage of development. The dragon shuttered to think about the levels beyond it.

This creature was specially made, and unique in its structure. One could not help but recognize it immediately, with its hound-like build while most of these monsters looked like humans, and with its vile, tar-colored poison.

_A very useful poison_, Isaac had to add to his thoughts, _especially when attempting to capture instead of to kill. _

Even one with parasitic innocence, whom was usually exempt to the effects of Dark Matter poison.

True, the overall mission of capturing Allen Walker for Rhode had been a failure; but for this mutt the trial had been a complete success of testing its full capabilities. It would 'live' to do its duty some other day, or just to simply supply the drug its fangs excreted out with its saliva.

Isaac felt its claws grip the frozen ground beneath the snow with enough pressure to break through the compacted soil and leave deep imprints.

Even though he did everything Rhode asked him to—and did it gladly, if only to please her—he found this request very hard to honor.

"_Don't kill any akuma."_ Oh, that was the only thing about his chosen that left a bad taste in his mouth and made his scales itch as if bugs were crawling beneath. How could she stand these stupid, worthless, vile--

Isaac coughed(hacking really), berating himself for such thoughts, and faced the demon.

It panted at him, breath forming no vapor in the air. It gave the mechanical life a distinct ... dead look, unlike the dragon puffing out clouds of warm air with each breath, as if he could breath fire.

Sometimes, Isaac wished he could. It would of made life a lot more fun, and Rhode would of liked that. But, regrettably, only Ammy's venom could spontaneously combust with the air, forming flame.

Quite a useful trick, that.

The ... _thing_ ... barked at him. Or, it tried to. The sound it made was both sharp and flat, almost as if a metal plate was being hit with something soft, and made Isaac hiss at it. But he controlled himself. Barely.

"I take it Rhode wants me back now?"

It nodded, and turned to lope back to the portal to the dream-world. Isaac glared at it, grinding his teeth silently, before following.

Its soul was screaming at him.

He want to scream back.

But Rhode was more important. She was the _most_ important. To him, only her soul mattered.

And with all of his power, he would save her. He knew how.

In the end, it was as simple as getting the Noah Clan to leave the Earl. That was all that needed to be done.

But to do that, other events had to be put in motion. Events that would lead to the eventual end of the world. Events that would lead to death and suffering.

The path would be hard.

Isaac was going to start it all anyway.

Because what else for him to do? Let the Earl lead the way to the End?

No. He could not let that happen.

It was a long way to the End yet, and there was much time to prepare. And even Rhode wasn't totally under the Earl's sway. She had something on her own agenda. Some_one_, actually.

Despite what he knew of the coming future, Isaac smiled to himself. The Noah were still loyal to their 'Will,' yet. He just had to find a way to remind them.

And it would be ... fun.

END 11.

**AN:**

"... and all through the house, not a creature was stirring..."

... Except the fanfiction writer. :)

Agh ... some parts of this feel ... agh, if you know what I mean.

And sorry about long waits (this is plural, because there is more waiting coming along for you all ... I'm so soooooorry!). But ... I'm in a 'slump' (I will NOT say writers block! It is a curse to say the words aloud!)

But, you guys deserve way more than I'm giving! Did I mention ... this story has over 100 reviews as of a long time ago? (swoon) Oh, sorry. I'm still amazed by that.

Thank-you all so much! Merry Christmas, and my your vacations be jolly!

Important news: Next update will be on New Year's (somewhere around there anyway ... I'm not sure about the hours at different parts of the world ...)


	12. Mad? Maybe

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

12.** Mad? Maybe.**

_Painkillers. Painkillers. I want painkillers. But I can't use painkillers._ Howard tried to keep his cool while the staples and stitches were removed from his back.

Each removal felt like a nail going _into_ his back instead of something else really coming _out_. And the girl-brat was laughing at him.

Fabulous.

"Y-you look-" Val got out between giggles, "L-like an angry _cat_!" Allen tried to hide his own chuckles at Val's apt description behind a hand and a cough.

Of course, Howard (the Crow agent that he was) noticed anyway and scowled.

_**You**_ _try getting de-stapled!_ He thought angrily, only allowing the thoughts to echo inside of his head instead of any other vengeful action.

Self control, people. Self control.

A few moments later, each few seconds punctuated by a small '_yank_' of pain in his back, and it was done.

_Not so bad, really._ Link contemplated as a few last swabs of disinfectant were rubbed against the small holes now apparent in his mostly healed back. _I've gone through worse. Though I can't remember any other wounds ever being this annoying._

_Maybe that's just because of the bystanders laughing at me ..._

His new layers of skin felt stiff and itchy with each movement, and it still hurt to lie down. So, he still had to sleep on his stomach. Strangely, this almost bothered him more than anything else. He had learned to sleep on his back, because it was easier to hear the whole room without one ear pressed against a pillow (something you _have_ to do when sleeping on your stomach) and because it was better for his overall back health too.

Really, someone of his caliber shouldn't be boggled down in bed like this. He should be out and about doing something, _anything!_, productive. At least, that's what he wanted to do. Be he was stuck here, with the brats.

"Val!" The boy-brat whined nervously. "You shouldn't be tryin' to get up!"

Looking over his shoulder, Link saw that the girl-brat was trying to do just that. Idiot.

"I _feel fine_ Mark!" She retorted, starting to stand on her bed and then proceeded to jump on it. "See? I'm fit as a fiddle!"

The boy was clearly worried, but not as much as before. "You'll get in trouble jumpin' on their beds ya' know."

The girl back-flopped back down onto her mattress and eyed her brother. "You really should work on your grammar Mark, your street-urchin is showing."

Worry turned to irritation as Mark glared at Val, and layered on the street-slur extra hard into his next few sentences. "What's i' matter? Is' not like we're anyplace fancy at the momen'."

Val sat up and glared back. "You and I both know you were taught better than that."

"What's i' matter?" He repeated with a scowl.

They looked on the edge of a Sibling War, when Allen butted in with a quick and not-thought-out-comment: "Are you guys bored?"

Val turned her glare to him. "_Obviously_. We've been stuck in this room for how long? A few days?"

"Abou' four." Mark commented. His sister gave him an angry look.

"_You've_ been aloud to go in and out! _We_, on the other hand, have been stuck here!"

The boy scratched the back of his blond head, looking both annoyed and sad. "I _do_ have ta make sure Speck doesn't get bored enough to try diggin' his way in here. He really misses gettin' to see ya Allen." The last comment was aimed at the exorcist, and Allen sighed.

"I would if the nurses let me out ..."

Apparently, the nursing staff hired at all the Branches (even those only recently hired, like those at the Asian Branch) were very dedicated to their jobs. But, luckily, all three of the invalid were going to be allowed to be discharged tomorrow. Maybe even sometime today.

Somehow, that just made the wait worse. Hence, the quarreling children.

"At least Smudge helps out a lot." Mark commented, speech closer to the correct form now. "Kandadoesn' seem to talk to him much, so Speck and Smudge have been keeping each other company. I think they're outside today, Smudge said somethin' about flying in the rain, and how it cleans their scales ..."

"It's raining?" Allen asked. It was really tiring being in a place with no windows sometimes.

"So _that's _why you're still in here with us." Val grumbled. "You'd rater not get yourself _wet_."

Mark looked insulted, and maybe even a bit hurt. "What the _hell_ is wrong with you today?" He demanded. "I thought you would _rather _I be here with you. But of your goin' to act like a wet cat all day, I'm going." He jumped up and stomped out of the room before Val could reply.

There was silence for a few moments. Val slowly looked from the door her brother walked out of, to the floor, to the wall, and eventually to her now-fidgeting hands. "I ... I'm not acting like a _wet cat_." She mumbled.

And audible snort was heard from Howard's bed, and her temper flared again. "Like _you've _never acted like an irritable pain in the--"

"Finishthat sentence, young lady, and I may have to wash your mouthout withsoap." Doctor Alter said, walking in with a clipboard. He looked as tired as Reever sometimes did when he was overworked. "You're really getting stir-crazy aren't you? And driving your brother to go out into the lonely halls ..." The doctor '_tsk_-ed.'

With an exasperated '_huff_,' Val threw herself down onto her pillow. "Can I go? Please? I'm _well_ for goodness sake!"

"Ah, ah, ah." The doctor childed her. "Not according to _my_ chart."

Val's look told everyone in the room just what she felt about 'his chart.'

Alter sighed. "At least my recovery routine doesn't involve life-and-death circumstances.**(1)**"

"...?" A question mark hung around the room as if it were a neon sign.

The doctor blinked. "Oh, just ignore my rambling. Okay Mr. Walker, let's take a good look at your shoulder ..."

Unwrapping the bandages, Alter revealed the pink, healthy skin growing in where there had once been a gash and life-threatening wound. Nodding in satisfaction, Doctor Alter left the now-mostly-healed wound unwrapped and in the open.

"It's healed nicely, and I think you could even go out and about today if you wanted too."

At the young girls look of pure envy, Allen decided he would stay in the infirmary a bit longer. The doctor shrugged. "Suit yourself. It _is _raining outside anyway. And everyone always gets a bit cranky on days like this too, windows or no."

Alter glanced over at Howard. "Mr. Link, you're free to go as well. Your back will undoubtedly bother you for a few more days yet, but you're perfectly fine otherwise."

Val looked like she was ready to start throwing things. "And _why _can't_ I _leave!?"

A _doctor-knows-best_ glare was sent her way, but Val was not easily cowed, so Doctor Alter explained: "I still don't know just how starved your body is right now, and what kind of diet would be best for you. Until then, _and when we get the full blood testing back_," He growled the last bit, before controlling himself. "We're just going to have to make sure you don't do anything too stressful."

"No _fair_." She whined, giving testimony to her age of twelve or younger.

Allen sighed. Link rolled his eyes. Dr. Alter wished Bak wasn't the self-designated god of blood and chemical testing.

Maybe he would find some excuse to go outside. Mark had been right, no one likes bad company.

**//DRDRDR//**

It felt like being stroked all over, Smudge eventually decided. The rain falling gently on him at uneven intervals and running down to the ground in rivulets felt like a hundred little hands poking at him. And if he hackledand lifted his scales, then the rain got under them quite quickly and both cooled and washed him down.

It was a very nice sensation.

Smudge basked in it, letting his front claws dangle a bit off of the cliff edge as the rain fell down to the river far below.

Speck seemed to be enjoying himself as well, and was flapping about above the canyon rift trying to catch as much rain as he could with his wide-open mouth. The little gray (though Gremlin was much smaller than he was, Speck was still 'runt-ish' compared to the 'properly sized' dragons) was a comical sight, scales wet and glinting and his pink tongue licking at the wind like he was eating the air. He seemed to be having quite a time by himself, and Smudge was content to stay on the ground and make sure he didn't wander to far away.

Sunny flew up out of the canyon mouth, surprising him when she landed by him and shook herself of in a half-hearted manner.

"Good afternoon." Smudge greeted.

Sunny nodded absently, gazing off at the forest as the branches shook under thwind and rain, before looking at the gray sky withthe gray dragon above. She smiled and laid down next to him, enjoying the special scenery that was only present with the rain. "It's a very beautiful day." She commented.

"In it's own way," Smudge agreed, before Speck hovered down to land on his other side. The speckled gray shookhimself off with a gusto, splattering Smudge's already wet scales further.

"Sky like Speck!" The small dragon exclaimed like an excited child. "Gray-gray!"

Smudge nodded with a patient smile and Sunny tried not to laugh. "Yes, you're right. It is the same color." Smudge told him.

"Allen see sky-gray?" As Smudge had learned (and understood on some level) Speck couldn't go for very long without questioning about Allen at least once per hour.

"Maybe. You know I don't know if he's allowed out today or not." Smudge reminded him yet again.

"Oh." Speck deflated a bit, before cheering himself up again. "I go fly now." And so he did, with a splitter and a splat as he pulled himself out of the small amount of mud coating the ground, getting both Sunny and Smudge dirty in the process.

"_Hey_!" Sunny objected, bright-yellow scales now tarnished.

"It will wash off." Smudge reassured her, looking at the glops of soil now on _his_back. "Where is Ammy? You both have been spending a lot of time together recently."

"Oh, she does not want to get wet today." Sunny said off-handedly. "She mentioned something about how the rain does not feel as good as salt water does."

Smudge sighed, and rolled his eyes. "That is preposterous. Water is water."

"Well, Ammy doesn't seem to like it unless she _chooses_ to get wet." Sunny pointed out.

"True." Smudge contemplated for a moment. "How is Miranda?"

It was Sunny's turn to sigh. "When she is not accidentally doing something bad, or _thinking_she is accidentally doing something bad, she is hiding somewhere or professing her apologies to all in her presence. And Kanda?"

"He is either practicing, moodily glaring at some other human, grumbling about someone else's incompetence, or growling at someone else to get out of his way."

"Hmm."

They sat in a comfortable silence.

A flash lit up the world for an instant.

"Did you see _that_!" Sunny exclaimed, leaping to her feet in excitement.

"I think I did." Smudge said, trying to blink the after-image of lightning out from behind his eyelids where it had burned itself.

Another flash, followed by another excited voice and calm response.

Speck laughed as the lightning flashed far away, and yelped when the next bolt zapped by not-too-far from where he was flying. He decided to quickly land again, and huddled next to Smudge, scales on end.

Sunny was overjoyed at the beautiful flashes of what seemed like cracks in the universe, and Smudge was in awe, flicking his ears at the noise they made. Speck watched the flashes with suspicion, still not very happy about almost being hit by one, and didn't like the way the things roared oh-so-loudly.

"What they?" Speck asked, eyes wide.

"I do not know." Smudge answered.

"Me neither." Sunny quickly supplied, eyes glued to the sky, trying to guess the most likely spot at which the next flash would appear. "But they're beautiful."

"Be-_u_-tee-full." Speck tried the word.

Smudge smiled at him. "Beautiful, but loud."

"_Loud_." Speck agreed, flinching at a particularly close crash of thunder and lightning.

They watched the rain and lightning is silence for a bit.

"Why do they have something beautiful like this here, but not where we come from?" Sunny asked. "It's not like our world was lacking for water. But it did not have rain either, or storms like this."

"We could ask the Golden Dragon**(2)** when this war is over and done with I suppose. If we win anyway." Smudge answered, gazing at the sky.

"Gold sparkle-y." Speck chirped.

Lightning cut the sky open, then the wound closed itself again.

"Well ... what about the _others_?" Sunny asked. "The old coots? Surely those old bags of scale know something about this world, and its connection to ours? They have probably been looking for connections for some time now."

"The Golden Dragon is the oldest out of all of our species." Smudge ruffled his wings, before settling them down again, rain dripping off in small waterfalls. "And by far the most sane out of all the 'old coots.' _And_ the only one that has crossed the barrier between the worlds once on _this_ side."

"Old scales smelly." Speck commented again, but still not a leading part of the conversation.

"He _claims _to know the secrets of both worlds." Sunny pointed out. "And he even brought a human across. It would be good to talk to him ... if we could."

"Can't." Speck informed her. "We here, he there. No talking. _Stuck_."

"Well, if _he_ found a way across," Sunny said, eyes glancing towards the sky once more. "I'm sure we could if we tried."

"Maybe." Smudge agreed. "But, there really is no reason for it. We'll look for a way if we need one."

"Maybe need." Speck said.

Rain fell, lightning crashed, and the dragons were silent.

**//DRDRDR//**

Arystar Krory the third, exorcist and gentleman, had somehow managed to get lost somewhere between the Asian Branch's lunchroom and infirmary. Now, Krory was not the type to wallow in self pity over this fact. He simply did the more logical thing: he tried to follow his nose to where the smell of food was most dominant.

This would have gotten him back in the right place in no time flat normally. But, as he was about to find out, not all roads lead to Rome ... or, not all food smells lead to cafeterias.

In fact, his nose lead straight to a lab room, where three teens were hard at work. Well, one of them was working hard anyway.

The other two were baking. Baking cookies.

Krory, having gotten lost because he was hungry in the first place, slowly and cautiously approached, hoping he wasn't interrupting anything. Li-Kei was the first to notice the hesitant exorcist.

"Oh, hello!" The tall teen greeted with great enthusiasm, almost making Lo-Fwa drop the hot pan of cookies she was pulling out of the oven. "Are you lost?"

"As a matter of fact, I am--" Krory began, only to be cut off when Lo-Fwa chattered at Li-Kei for almost making her have to start over again.

In his little corner, surrounded by papers and sporting some dark bags under his eyes, Shifu sighed.

Krory slowly walked into the room, stomach grumbling demandingly. The three noticed the sound, and all eyes turned toward the vampire-like exorcist, making Arystar blush in embarrassment. "If you could kindly tell me where the cafeteria is located please?"

Shifubegan with: "The food consumption area is located five hallways down--"

Lo-Fwa said in her own attempt to help (while trying not to burn the parts of her hands not protected by her cute pair of pink oven mitts): "If you just take a left after the first three rights--"

Li-Kei, after pondering over the babble spewed by his two friends, suggested in a loud voice: "Want a cookie?"

Krory looked happy enough to try one, though the girl that baked them wasn't as forthcoming. "But these are for _Allen_!" She placed them on a nearby table and placed herself between them and the growling stomach.

Arystar really would have been ok going to look for the cafeteria ...

-_grrrroooouuuurrrrr_-

His belly growled again, demanding subsistence. Okay, maybe it _would_ be a good idea if he had a small snack before leaving ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Mark wandered aimlessly about. He really didn't have anything to do, and would of really liked to hang out with Allen (one of the only people he really knew here)but was too stubborn to go back to the infirmary where his sister was.

He mentally kicked himself. Val was his sister, he should be used to her more annoying quirks by now.

Well, apparently large injections of worry and being thrown into a strange place had caused a malfunction in his anti-annoyance-shielding. Hopefully the time he spent wandering around now would help him calm down so he could properly ignore her badgering.

Mark narrowed his eyes at nothing in particular, ambling along with his hands behind his head in a lazy stretch.

_I shouldn't of been so stiff. Val really _has_ been couped up for too long, and it isn't really fair that I get the lay of the place and she don't._ He decided, ignoring a few passersby as they looked curiously at him. As far as he knew, he and Val were the only kids in residence at the Asian Branch at the moment.

Apparently, kids weren't normally allowed to live at the Order at some reason, and Mark had lost count of the people that had walked up to him with fragmented tales about their own kids. Fragmented, because they didn't see their family's that often from what Mark could guess.

_Man. These people need to lighten up._ His thoughts were brought off track by a hint of something sweet in the air. _Cookies?_

Mark began to salivate just thinking about sweets. His feet turned down the corridor that the smell came from, and he let himself be lead by his nose. The room wasn't very hard to find; the door was wide open and looked far too inviting.

_Cookies ... _Refraining just barely from licking his lips at the warm smell alone, Mark poked his head into the room, just in time to see that they really _did_ have cookies inside, _and _they were already handing them out! One lucky pale man had gotten to the cookies first, and was taking the first bite out of one.

Mark felt green withenvy, and was going to beg for one for himself when the pale exorcist (Mark recognized the man's coat and remembered seeing him at the infirmary, though he hadn't talked to the adult himself) turned paler, brought a hand to his mouth, then madeseveral distressed noises before running to a nearby trashcan to spit the cookie out of his mouth.

The scientists in the room looked quite surprised. Well, the two standing up were. The short girl looked surprised and gazed curiously at the cookies she was holding while the tall bot looked sorry, and said so to the exorcists washing his mouth out at the sink. The other scientist was scribbling away feverishly at the paper on his desk, looking overworked.

_Hmm ... bad cookies?_ Mark wondered, having trouble comprehending such a notion. Who in the world would have the gal to create cookies that smelled so good, but obviously tasted oh-so bad? Only someone with a horrible sense of taste, or someone who had no ability to cook whatsoever.

When the female scientist with big glasses and scraggly looking pigtails took a curious bite and gagged, Mark guessed the case to be the latter.

"Um ..." The one black-haired teen inquired from his spot at his desk, not even turning around. "So ... the cookies were not a success I gather?"

"Be quiet Shifu!" Lo-Fwasaid, going through all of the cooking steps she had done, trying to figure out where she went wrong, grumbling as she gazed at the cookbook.

"I think the step which you ultimately ruined the consumables was when you added salt instead of sugar ..." He mumbled absentmindedly before trailing off, apparently lost on another train of thought.

Both of the other scientists stared at him.

"When were you paying attention to what we were doing!?" Lo-Fwa looked a little creeped out.

"You didn't turn around once!" Li-Kei asserted, looking just as shocked. "I _swear _you didn't!"

Shifu sighed at his paperwork. Krory seemed to feel ignored, and decided to just retreat.

The older man almost ran into Mark, but looked relieved when he saw the kid. "Can you please show me to where the cafeteria is?"

Mark shrugged. "It would be me pleasure. I don't got anythin' better ta do anyway ..."

So, the duo strolled off, leaving the trio of scientists to work out their problems and weird moments amongst themselves.

"_How_!?" The two chorused, and Shifu blinked at them like a night-owl prodded awake at noon.

Slowly, the middle-sized teen pointed at a the reflective metal plates on the walls (to protect against fire damage). The two squeakers gazed at themselves in the almost mirror-like reflections.

Well ... oh. Duh.

Both felt similarly humiliated, but Shifu didn't notice.

He just got back to working on an equation a higher-up had given him to work out. Something about merging two very unstable substances ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Howard Link was very much relieved.

The infirmary was finally quiet. One genius of a nurse had given the girl-brat a book to read, and she had finally gone silent, caught up in reading.

The she-brat was reading ... Howard twisted his head about to get a better look, and narrowed his eyes, trying to look at the small text imprinted on the book's spine. The book was ... The Island of Dr. Moreu?

Howard highly doubted the book was suitable for children, but kept silent about it because it was probably one of the only books the child could read here, as he suspected most of the literature was probably more ... 'work' related.

And Walker was currently feeding upon a mound of Italian specialties, courtesy of the Italian chef that seemed to be personally taking care of the infirmary's food needs, as Howard himself was just being served some spaghetti.

Link slowly moved himself until he was sitting upright. As long as he was able too, he would feed himself. It felt horribly degrading to had to be hand fed like some ... invalid.

Howard was determined to take care of himself, and at this point in the healing process, he was also able to. Just as he fully righted himself, a small slip of paper slipped out of the book the girl-brat was reading, and drifted to the floor.

The child looked at it curiously, and put the book down, wiggling out from under her bedsheets and out of the bed. Allen only then noticed and swallowed down a mass no human should be able to without choking. Link looked on the scene with interest, but nevertheless began his meal anyway, wishing it were something sweeter.

Val picked up the paper, which turned out to be a picture of someone familiar. "Hey, Allen!" The girl began, still looking over the photo curiously, turning it over to see if anything was written on it. "Isn't this person one of the exorcists that visited you?"

She handed it to him after determining that there was no writing on it, and Allen nodded after glancing at it.

"Yeah, that's Lenalee. But how did that get th--"

"_Gaaaah_!" Faster than a speeding bullet, Bak leaped into the room and snatched the photo**(3) **away.

Everyone stared, as the Asian Branch Head clutched the picture to his chest, bug-eyed. "I do _not_stalk Lenalee Lee!" He squeaked.

Allen wondered how a man classified 'genius' could be so ... idiotic. Crazy. Wait ... maybe all genius are like that ...

"We weren't accusing you of it." Link deadpanned. "Although, because of you're reaction--"

"You really shouldn't stalk girls you like." Val asserted, returning to her bed and book. "It may send off the wrong vibes."

"I _am not_--"

"_And_!" Val interrupted with her own siren of a voice, "You shouldn't leave stuff in books if you _don't want people to find it_!"

... Silence. Val gave a final '_humph_!,' and returned to reading her novel, which she had somehow devoured to the point of near-completion. No wonder she had been slightly peeved at being interrupted.

"But ..." Bak looked generally bewildered. "I keep all of my photos in my folders or locked away where Komui will _never_ find them ..."

Link looked doubtful. "I don't think a man of Komui Lees' position has time to go about looking for pictures of his sister in other Branches Mr. Chan."

The short blond man's eyebrow twitched. "Oh really?"

Allen gulped. He didn't think this was going to be pretty.

It wasn't.

Bak called for Wong and had the older man distract the nursing staff while he lead the two non-believers (plus Allen) to the main computer room. Val was simply ecstatic over finally being let out of the infirmary, while Howard looked scandalized as Bak showed what could only be Komuiterrorizing innocent civilians with a giant robot.

A giant robot, and a bazooka, along with several explosives. AND a bigger robot. All because his sister was ... what? Going shopping?

(I'm just describing episode 18, because I can't imagine anything else even _remotely_more ridiculous for Komui to do ... lol, octopus ...)

So ...

_This is ridiculous._ That was the first thought that came the Link's mind. The second was, _How exactly did this man come to be Head of the main Headquarters of the Black Order with this kind of insanity?! Surly this level of ...idiocy would be noticed before things got out of control?_

Nope. Sorry Link. Komui is quite sane. When he has to be. Otherwise--

Half of a shop was destroyed on screen.

-- ... let the madness begin ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Komui sneezed, some papers blowing off of this new office desk to land on the spotless new tile flooring in his new 'office.'

Gremlin looked curiously down from the bookshelf he was currently perched on, adoring the top like a green gargoyle.

"Bless Brother."

"Thank-you." Komui answered absentmindedly. The man was currently wondering how his sister was fairing at the Asian Branch, alone with the devious Bak Chan. He re-adjusted his glasses and frowned. If that octopus did anything to his precious sister, if _anyone_ did anything inappropriate to his precious sister ... well ...

Komui abandoned the small stack of paperwork that had already started to grow, in favor of a funner project. Like finding where Reever had hidden all of his 'dangerous' lab experiments ...

END 12.

Overall Notes:

**(1)**The doctor is referring to Allen's last stay at the Asian Branch, when he trained in combat with Fo everyday in a desperate attempt to re-connect with his innocence faster. In fact, it was Allen's 'moments' at the Asian Branch that inspired me to hire on some new medical staff. Doctor Alter is a fun minor OC to write every once and while, and inspired by my grandfather, who was a doctor most of his working life ...

**(2)**The Golden Dragon, isn't really an important element in the story yet, so you don't really have to think about this meaningless rambling until we go farther. But, just in case a few things weren't clear, here are the main details in a clench: **-**The Golden Dragon is the 'oldest' dragon. -There ARE other dragons known, just not in this world. -There is another world connected to this one. And it's got dragons.

**(3)A**-Yes. Random Bak. **B**-Remember this picture? Li-Kei was seen with it way back in **Chapter 7**. Need a quote to help the old memory banks? Me too. Sooo:

"_Shifu shuffled away, and was then speeding down the wide hallway back to his room that he shared with Li-Kei. Bursting inside, he found his spiky haired friend looking at a picture in a book. _

_**The picture did not belong in that book. Shifu knew for a fact that Li-Kei hated science-fiction, would never willingly read **__H.G. Wells__**' book, '**__**The Island of Dr. Moreu**__**', and that he kept a photo of Lenalee on page 70. Though Shifu didn't know where the heck he had got it from.**_**" Dragon Lies, Ch.7**

Author's Notes/Random Comments:

Ah ... yeah. Hmm. That was ... a lot of notes. And ... little plot line. Gah ...

New Year's resolution: Get back to the Da--(cough) ... darn plot line. Grrr ... what to do when frustrated with one's self and stuck in a land with a slow computer you can't type (OR properly spell check) on?

BUY SOME PAPER AND WRITE ON THAT. (Which I did **:)** )

Happy New-Year ya'll! (And my this chapter be less ... gah ... then the last one, though it's probably not better by much ...)

Next chapter time: unknown ... :(


	13. Unlucky

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

13. Unlucky

Smudge was trying very hard not to take a deep breath into his deflated lungs, because several nice Finders were trying to fit him into an improvised harness.

He had worn another 'harness' for Kanda to grab onto, the thing had really been just a few scraps of leather and rope thrown together, but it had been dubbed far too unstable to hold up for much longer.

Smudge knew it was important to have a proper harness to keep people on his back, as they tended to fall off during more extreme situations of aerobatics that would be required if it ever came to a battle in the air, but it was hard to think about such necessity's of the future when people were squeezing his chest so uncomfortably _right now_.

"Must it be ... so tight?" He asked tightly, unable to speak in any other way with so little air. "I do not think ... I will be able to fly with this on."

"Do you _want_ the Lord Exorcist to fall off when you are flying?" Said one of the Finders pulling his ... girth? ... tighter.

They were trying several types of harness. So far, this was the third prototype.

"No," Smudge muttered, breathless. "But ... I would ... like to be ... able--" A large breath filled his lungs involuntarily and several of the people working were thrown froward as the harness fought back against their hands. "--to _breathe_. Sorry." And the black beast really did look remorseful. And just a bit light-headed

Smudge slowly let his breath out and tried not to get dizzy as the finders pulled the girth tight again.

"Well, _that's_ obviously not going to work." Ammy drawled from the sidelines, along with the other dragons. "If we cannot even speak with the contraption on, however are we to fly with it?"

The Finders stopped their tightening, and let go of the leather. The tightening strip flew away, letting Smudge breathe properly yet again. The black dragon quickly slipped the pieces of leather off of himself with a relived sigh, and let the harness fall to the floor when he finally escaped it completely.

The Finders spoke quietly amongst themselves, undoubtedly talking about the latest harness's failure, before going to fetch the next contraption from the science section. They would mention the current prototypes limitations, too much pressure on the ribcage, and wait for the next experiment to be thrown out for testing.

Well, to be fitted on Smudge anyway. The black, though much larger than the rest of the group, had been deemed the least likely to ... well:

Barbecue anyone.

Run off to get a better look at something interesting.

Or to fidget like some overly hyper child.

Just to some it up, he was the most well-behaved of the lot, and also to one most likely to put up with _anything_.

_Including_ having himself strangled for the good of fitting a few pieces of leather onto him, because he well knew that one day he would need those tanned bits of animal hide to possibly save someone from a fatal fall to the ground.

The ground that he could fly so far above, along with his other kin with wings. Speaking of that kin ...

Sunny was making her 'oh-that-looks-simply-_awful_' face at him. "I hope the next harness they bring out is a different color." The yellow declared.

Speck glanced at her from the large leg-bone he was chewing to bits. "Fwhy?" He asked around the solid object in his jaws.

"Because that brownish color clashes _horribly_ with Smudges black scales." She announced with an air of importance, suddenly the queen opinion (in her own mind) of fashion. "He must have something that doesn't clash so. Like black, or a dark blue."

"Why?" Speck asked again, bone held between his two hand-like forepaws.

"Because colors that clash so atrociously make me sick." The yellow dragon announced.

"Why?"

"Because they are not meant in _any_ aspect of nature to go together." Sunny answered like she was an expert on the subject.

"Why?"

At this point, Sunny finely ran out of answers and grew annoyed (like so many often did with the small gray beast).

"There is no '_why_' to it!" She snapped at him. "It just is!"

"Fwhy?" The bone was in his mouth again, cracking beneath the pressure of Specks jaws.

Sunny groaned, and decided to ignore the last question. Speck, like any truly curious (or mischievous) child, didn't let the matter drop there.

"Fwhy Shu-knee? Fwhy?" It really wasn't all that helpful that his mouth was full with part of a cow's skeletal structure at the moment.

Ammy, too, was tired of the noise, and had a more direct approach to stopping the annoyance. "Shut. Your jaws. _Now_."

Of course, any child that had been asking out of naughtiness would have stopped there, knowing an approaching punishment on the horizon. But ... as Speck was simply curious and didn't even understand the meaning of the word 'annoyance' ...

He spoke. Again. The same irking word. "Fwhy?"

And, like any older sibling irked beyond the point of politeness, Ammy responded by snatching the large partially chewed 'toy' out of the other dragons jaws and held it. "Because you are being an annoying little speck the just won't _shut up_!"

Looking dreadfully confused, Speck shut his mouth, pondering to himself why the older and larger dragon had gotten so angry. While another would have been hurt by such a comment, Speck was simply too happy with his current predicament to be angry at all.

After all, Allen was well. They were having these harnesses made so they could travel to their new 'Home' as well, which was also a good thing. And there was plenty of food to be found at both here and 'Home;' who wouldn't be gladdened by that?

Sure ... there was the ... thing ... inside of Allen. That _could_ be a thing to worry about. But, as things were, the memory's-that-were-not-Allen weren't doing anything, even though Speck had stopped impeding the progress they made.

The memory's wouldn't do any harm anyway. At least, Speck thought they wouldn't. He had looked at them, and they seemed fine.

Well ... they were all 'real' anyway. Speck had gotten rid of all of the one's that didn't matter too, so that it would be easier for the rest of the mass to 'mix' with 'Allen' without breaking anything.

Perfect.

And, to put the sweet-stuff-that-tastes-good on top of the cake, they were leaving soon too.

Allen was happy, and so were many of the other 'people,' so Speck was perfectly happy to stay silent and give the Grumpy-Ammy his bone-toy if it would make her happy too. She was all too ... ann-oy-ed ... all of the time.

At least, that was the way Speck saw it.

**//DRDRDR//**

"So ..." Mark began. "Who's carrying the egg for God-knows-how-long?"

A valid question, and Val looked surprised to hear such sense coming out of her brothers mouth. She opened her own mouth to make a possibly teasing comment back, but thought better of it and gazed at the four dragons waiting to take off, all of them newly harnessed. She didn't want to make him mad again, not after they had just 'made up' over the misunderstanding they had in the infirmary.

The total count for the coming flight was nine people, and one egg between the four dragons. Well, except for Lenalee, who would fly herself.

So far, it looked like Speck would carry Allen and Link, as the dragon would not have anyone else carrying Allen, and Link was equally determined not to have his charge fly off somewhere-or-other again.

Sunny would carry both Miranda and Val, because the yellow dragon the young girl the least likely out of the group to 'upset' Miranda.

Ammy would carry Lavi and Krory, though Smudge suspected she only volunteered to carry the pale man because he was friends with her 'servant.'

The black himself was carrying Kanda and Mark, though the dragon worried that the boy-child would become nervous, being forced to sit still for such a long time with the easily-angered Kanda.

_Oh well._ Smudge thought to himself. _We _could _be in a worse predicament._

"Speck carry egg?" The gray volunteered himself.

Ammy snorted at the idea. "Don't be stupid. You are _far_ too slow already to carry anything extra."

Smudge rolled his eyes, and quickly claimed the responsibility for himself, just to prevent the argument from going any further. Ammy huffed at him. "Why do you always defend the little speck, Smudge?" She asked.

Smudge thought about it for a moment, head turned sideways quizzically and 'hmm'ed thoughtfully to himself. "You know what? I don't really know why I do it. I just do; that is all."

Ammy rolled her eyes at Smudge while the two other dragons in attendance listened with rapt attention.

"You do realize you aren't making any sense whatsoever, right? _Everyone_ has reasons for their actions, including you, so figure it out." She demanded, glaring at the slightly bigger black.

The three larger dragons present were all beginning to reach a similar size, and stopping in growth that had happened so voraciously within the first few weeks of life, making it relatively easy for them to speak eye to eye. Well, all of them except for a few exceptions.

"An obligation to those smaller then myself needs no explanation." Smudge quietly replied, though the calm in his voice seemed a little forced.

But, before the conversation (or argument, whichever why the individual perceives it) could continue, it was time to be off. Well, almost.

Allen was followed by quite an assembly of happy and sad faces. Happy to see him yet again (as his job qualification argued for a short lifespan) but, at the same time, sad to see him off.

Especially three scientists and one ... Guardian-deity-thing.

"You've got to visit us more often," Li-Kei was telling the teen with a partial glance to Lenalee every few moments. "It does get boring not having anything to do around here."

Shifu slowly turned his head upwards to stare at his friend, flabbergasted at the last statement.

Lo-Fwa, on the other hand, was blushing like there was no tomorrow. It seemed, once confronted with the object of her affections, she became far less aggressive, and a bit more submissive. Of course, when it came to her friends, she seemed to retain all of her temper at any teasing comment they uttered.

And Fo was ... well ... Fo.

"You're still a scrawny little sewer rat." She declared after eying the now-slightly-nervous teen. "Do you have any muscle in that scrawny noodle of a body?" She demanded.

Allen, and the three teen scientists, seemed to know where this was going, as they were backing away slowly from Fo and Allen seemed to be tensing for something, like he was almost expecting the orange haired female to hit him.

The other exorcists looked on with curiosity as the events unfolded. Speck sighed and covered his angular head with his paws. "Me no want to look."

"Why not?" Sunny asked, right as Fo seemingly thought about something, then shrugged.

"Eh, I'm too tired to have any fun with you right now. Maybe next time."

The tension eased out of the room as Fo gave a superiorly bored look Ammy was proud of, turned, and walked away with a small wave over her shoulder.

"Don't forget what I told you last time you left, fool!" She called. **(Look at AN)**

"Bye Fo!" Allen said with a returning wave and laugh.

"..." Most of the audience was throughly confused, especially the exorcists. The scientists just gave a few sighs of relief, and Speck hesitantly removed he paw slightly, peaking.

"Thing not chop-up Allen?"

Allen looked surprised, and walked over to poke Specks nose. "Why would Fo want to chop me up?" Then he thought about what he just said. "Ah ... besides whatever reasons she has to cut me to pieces of course."

The other exorcists were staring at him.

Allen ignored them, pretending to check the harness Speck had on. Not many people knew just what happened when he was trying to get his innocence back, and he wanted to keep it that way. Besides, how do you tell your family something like that?

It would hurt both parts if he told, both himself and them.

They got ready to go.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Doctor?" A blond nurse asked, stepping into the man's office with a flip of her curled hair.

"Yes?" Alter replied, filing away a few of the new documents they had recorded while caring for the guest exorcist, the child, along with the 'guard.'

"The North American Branch is requesting some copies of those documents they were asking about." She informed him politely as he slipped the desk drawer closed with a 'snap.'

"Oh!" The man snapped his fingers in clarification. "Of course! I'll bring them to Wong after lunch so he can send them. I can't believe I forgot ..." He laughed and rubbed at his short and thinning black hair. Some gray was peppered into it as well. "Must have been all of the excitement."

"Yes Doctor." The nurse left with a bow, closing the door behind her.

Dr. Alter sighed quietly to himself. The man hadn't really forgotten about the documents, he wasn't_ that_ old yet, he had just been looking them over before sending them. They were pretty intriguing.

The documents in question were copies of some older translations of the very inscriptions on the walls of one particular corridor of the Branch. They spoke in an almost nonsensical way of binding power with blood and blood with power and of how to create living stone.

But, with the way these powers had to be obtained, the doctor doubted any possible use for such arcane things in the present day's world.

Even with all of the things he had seen, he didn't think the text had any real base to it. Besides, how would any man get a hold of the main catalyst for the 'magic' anyway?

There was no way in hell such a thing as 'God's blood' existed on Earth.

The man shuffled a few last papers out of one of his drawers, and went along with his day.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen looked down, still amazed at the distance between himself and the ground. He knew that no matter how many times Speck brought him up into the air, the view would always be nothing short than amazing.

He hadn't had time to really appreciate the view beforehand. He had been too busy trying to get home, and then he had been attacked, and then he had been stuck in an infirmary ... _again_.

Allen sighed to himself; it wasn't like he _liked_ being seriously injured, it just seemed that most Noah and akuma liked hurting_ him _particularly. But, on the other side, it was better him than his friends ... or, at least, that was what he thought.

"Hey Link ..." He began, thinking about something that had been bothering him.

"Walker?" He addressed the smaller boy, clutching at the saddle beneath him. Luckily (for his pride), the harnesses had been built in such a way that he didn't have to hold onto the white-haired boy in front of him for extra balance, there was a separate saddle strap for him to hold onto.

"I've been wondering; what were you doing alone at Headquarters?"

"... that is none of your business Mr. Walker." Link stiffly replied. Technically, letting Allen disappear in the first place had been a horrible breach of security, and he taken it upon himself to give the exorcist a stern talking too when he got back, but ...

Well, a lot had happened. The inspector had decided to let it slip.

"Okay ..." Allen replied, not really disappointed. He hadn't been expecting a full answer anyway. But, it did seem a little weird ...

A small stab of pain in his left eye made him flinch, instinctively bringing his had up to cover the left side of his face. Vaguely, he heard Howard's voice take up a questioning tone, but he ignored it and focused on the location of the akuma that was rapidly approaching the group.

The pain had surprised him, his eye hadn't hurt in ... weeks? Months? Allen hadn't really been keeping track. All he had known was that the pain had been gone, and he had hoped it was gone for good.

Guess not.

Speck was tensed beneath him, and seemed ready to go attack whatever was approaching their flying space.

It was coming. Whatever type, level, or creature it was, it was coming.

Fast.

**//DRDRDR//**

"..." Mark gazed dismally at the ground, contemplating how long they would have to be in the air _today_. There is an emphasis in 'today' because he knew it would take more than one to get to the exorcists so-called 'Headquarters.'

The blond-hair child was not looking forward to more days having a birds-eye view of the world, especially since he, himself, didn't have a working pair of wings ...

"Kanda ..." Mark almost felt Smudge talking more than he heard the dragon, the black seemed slightly tense. "May we--"

"No." Kanda muttered, hardly bothering to put any energy into the negative remark.

Smudge whined, turning his head to look back at them, worried. "But--"

"No."

"What're you talking about?" Mark asked, really too young, too naive, and too curious for his own good.

Slowly, the samurai turned to glare at the boy, not even turning all the way around to give the kid a full look. "The black _baka_ constantly asks to go off course to kill akuma at least twenty miles away."

"... baka?"

Kanda rolled his eyes and muttered: "Idiot." without really answering the question.

Mark, disregarding the instinct to get as small as possible and shut up so the larger threat didn't cut him to ribbons, yapped out: "But isn't destroying mechanical things that kill people a good thing to do?"

The samurai just continued to stare straight ahead. "Not if it means getting off task."

"Off _what_ task exactly?"

Smudge cleared his throat, eyes focused somewhere to the far right, and pointed out that the most important thing at the moment was to get the egg and Allen and Speck back to Headquarters and then they would be able to kill all the akuma they wanted, but only at night when people wouldn't see them, and only the akuma out in the open for similar reasons of keeping secrecy.

Mark nodded, his mouth shaped into a silent 'Oh' of understanding.

"But," Smudge added, his scales lifting in little waves of uneasiness, "This akuma is coming very close to us ..."

"How close?" Kanda snapped, gripping his sword, suddenly very receptive to the worried vibes the dragon was sending.

Almost simultaneously, the dragons and Walker tensed.

"Lenalee, get down!" Was yelled out by Allen, before a gust of wind caught them and they were thrown about in the unnatural storm.

Cries and exclamations were heard, then whipped away as winds tossed and hit them, breaking the group farther apart. Mark was sure he saw the girl exorcist with the special boots for a moment, panic written on her face, before he gripped the saddle and exorcist in front of himself, trying not to fall off of the massive beast he was sitting on.

This was bad. Very bad.

And the egg--

Once smuggled in a side saddle bag--

Was now ever so slowly --

Mark yelled as loud as he could when he saw the precious item slipping free of its leather bounds, and reached out to grab it with both of his hands that had previously been helping to hold his own body down.

His legs had been strapped down to the saddle, he didn't think he was likely to fall off as both his hands wrapped protectively around the orb that was almost the same size as his head.

But it was very distressing having the ground where the sky should be, and vice versa ...

Right about then he realized the wind had forced Smudge to go completely wrong-side-up.

And then he heard a _snap_.

The _snap_ of leather, as it broke.

The _snap_ of what had been holding his body down to the dragon, the leather that had been straining to hold his legs while the rest of him let go to catch the falling egg.

Now both he and it were falling, and twisting, and turning, and being pulled and pushed as wind battered at him; at it.

Falling to the ground that was becoming closer and closer as gravity seemed to gather strength over his body, and the wind was farther away; farther up.

Mark heard someone scream.

He closed his eyes, he didn't want to watch to ground as it rose up to meet him.

_This isn't so bad_, he told himself. _It ... almost feels like I'm floating. Maybe ... I won't feel it ... when ..._

With a strangled sob he bit down on the thought. He didn't want to think about it. About what was happening. About what was going to happen in a few moments.

The child gripped at the egg he held. _I'm sorry._ He silently told it. _Looks like it's my fault you're about to be scrambled a second time._

A half hysterical laugh escaped his lips, but to roaring wind didn't let him hear himself. _Maybe someone will catch me ..._

With a look up, he knew it was hopeless. All of the dragons and exorcists were concentrated with something else at the moment, saving their own skins. Mark didn't blame them.

They were so far away. And getting smaller ... and smaller ...

It wasn't as bad, watching them grow farther away.

It was far worse to watch the ground coming towards him. Death coming towards him.

The child closed his eyes, and wished for it all to stop soon.

It did.

END 13. Unlucky

**AN:**

First, What Fo was talkin' about (a small excerpt from Volume 9):

"Allen ... you say ...you care about humans and akuma. That makes you crazy in my book."

Ah, poor Allen ... re-reading his 'injured' ark always makes me sad ... but it's the only place those silly Asian Branch people are, so I have to read it ...

But, 'injured' Allen is also impossible cute sometimes ... I'm serious ... many writers take advantage of his 'helpless' cuteness ...

Ah, and the next chapter may just have my first character death! (Evil laughter) Aw, come-on! You guys didn't think things would be boring forever, did you?

ANYWAY, Here you go! I've decided just to sent out chapters as soon as I've finished them. This is relatively un-beta-ed (as she hasn't replayed to what I sent yet) but I just wanted you guys to get it as soon as possible.

I think we all deserve a little extra 'fake' D Gray as the author of the manga is sick ... (cry)

REVIEWS FEED THE DRAGONS AND MY IMAGINATION!

PLEASE CLICK THE FEED/REVIEW BUTTON!

Thank-you.


	14. TimeOut

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

**14. Time-Out**

Sunny, of course, had seen the thing first.

She, being the wonderful dragon that she was, didn't want the others to feel inferior about not seeing as well as she could. The yellow carefully looked at the others, trying to guess who saw it next.

The effect was about simultaneous, and even Sunny didn't see who twitched first. She was a bit surprised that the white-haired person could tell what was coming, and snorted when the other dragons tried to politely tell their passengers that something _bad_ was coming.

But even she couldn't see air.

The blast almost totally knocked her head-over-tail, but she was able to stabilize herself as Miranda yelped and the small-girl yipped.

The others were a little less lucky.

Smudge was knocked hard enough to send him spinning and rolling, desperately trying to fix his flight.

Speck was hit worse, because of his smaller stature, and _was_ tumbling head-over-tail, looking confused as to which way was up.

Sunny had lost sight of Lenalee in the upheaval, and hoped she hadn't been hit too hard. The humans had very little protective padding, unlike the dragons with their scales and sheer bulk.

Ammy, on the other hand, had been pushed _down_, killing her altitude. The orange tried vainly to get passed the wind encasing her 'up' space, but only succeeded in looking stupid. And missing the small bundle that fell passed her.

Trying to stay right side up (the wind was being very annoying, and the akuma was getting closer) Sunny narrowed her eyes. What was falling?

Her eyes widened when she figured out what it was as Smudge righted himself, and someone was missing from his back.

The small girl-child on her own back screamed when she saw what was missing.

Miranda turned pale when she saw.

Sunny was trying to go lower, to dive, but the wind kept trying to fill her wings and toss her some other way. So, she folded them completely and hoped that the gusts wouldn't be able to impede her fall.

Thank the gods it didn't, and she fell. As she fell passed Ammy, the orange looking supremely frustrated, Sunny yelled something about 'Look-down!' before diving out of earshot.

But, even as she neared the boy-child, the yellow quickly realized she wouldn't be able to get to him fast enough.

The ground was going to catch Mark first.

Unless--

"Miranda!" Sunny yelled, trying to be heard over the wind rushing by them. "Can you stop Boy-Child from falling?"

Miranda mumbled and stuttered, unsure. She had never tried such a thing before with her innocence. "I d-d-don't--"

"Can you try?" Sunny kept her eyes on the boy-child. She could see him looking back, clutching the egg in his arms.

He looked hopeless as he, to, figured out the impossibility of rescue. The ground was reaching him too fast, if they didn't do anything soon--

Sunny wanted to close her eyes when he was a mile from the ground.

Half-a-mile.

A quarter.

A burst of power made Sunny keep her eyes wide open, looking down.

The boy had stopped, frozen, at least a yard from death, if not less.

The girl-child on her back was crying, and Miranda seemed too strained hold the boy where he was (_when_ he was, actually) to say anything.

"Be quiet," Sunny said, not unkindly. "Miranda caught him."

The girl was still looking down, puffy eyes a mess. She couldn't see that far down, and didn't understand how the older woman could have 'caught' her brother if she was sitting right there.

Well, Sunny didn't think the girl-child was particularly 'bright' anyway. Her hair wasn't even that shinny! And everyone _knew_ it was the color of a humans hair that showed how smart they were.

Switching her dive for a smoother glide, Sunny looked up to see how the others were fairing. Ah, Lenalee had found the akuma and was trying to kill it with great success.

The akumas power_ had_ been a surprise, but the creature was alone and Speck and Smudge quickly helped her tear it to pieces. Ammy looked particularly steamed by the fact that she hadn't been able to help kill the akuma _and_ the fact that she missed something falling by her.

Smudge was coming as fast as he could dive, and Sunny was quick to reassure him that his unseated passenger was fine.

Frozen, but fine.

"I can't believe I let him _drop_ like that," Smudge said forlornly. His eyes went to Miranda and Val. "I am sorry to put such hardship to you both."

"Stop _apologizing_." Sunny growled at him, the two the farthest down and closest to landing. "I mean it Smudge. You and Miranda put far too much blame on yourselves."

"It wasn't your fault you black _baka_." Sunny was surprised to hear Kanda grumble. "Those damn scientists just didn't make a strong enough saddle."

The others had yet to catch up, or even figure out what had happened, but Sunny didn't want to wait. Miranda was starting to shake.

Sunny didn't know whether it was the strain of exercising a power she had never tried before, the sheer difficulty of holding Mark in place with tons of gravity pushing him down, or both that made the effort difficult, but the dragon wanted her to let go of the power as soon as possible.

That involved getting the boy down without a ... _squish_.

Sunny still didn't know how they were going to work _that_ little detail out though ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Howard Link clung desperately to the saddle, trying very hard not to be sick. The little ride he had just gone through had convinced him that if he ever got off of this damn beast it would be a good idea to keep his feet on the ground.

It would be a good idea to hug the ground.

Hell, _kissing_ the damned ground seemed like a good idea at the moment.

At least the akuma was dead and they were making their way down for a landing, the orange creature seeming mad enough to spit fire. Oh, wait, now she _was _spitting fire.

"Why are they landing?" Ammy growled, very, _very_, angry right now. "They can't _possibly_ do any good."

"Some-person hurt?" Speck asked, gliding down with her. Lenalee had a head start, and was already very close to the dragons farther down.

What Lenalee lacked in size she more than made up for in speed and flexibility in flight.

Speck almost got charred for his trouble as Ammy yelled/spat in his direction: "Well it's their own fault dropping him in the first place--!"

"_What_!?" Apparently, Speck passengers had been among the few who had missed the fall. Lavi and Krory had been looking down sadly, but they would have never thought that--

"Who fell?" Allen asked, dreading the answer.

"Mark," Lavi answered before his dragon could say something along the lines of 'brat.' "With the innocence."

The ground seemed closer now, and they could see where Sunny and Smudge had already landed, around something small. But, as they got closer, it was apparent that the object wasn't a bloody mess on the ground, thank God, but Mark. Safe. A Few feet off of the ground.

The gray and orange beast landed, letting their passengers get down to gather around the strange sight.

"Okay," Lavi asked, the dragon forming a multi-colored ring of scales around the phenomena. "So ... are you going to let him down now?" The red head directed the question at Miranda, only then noticing her breathing slightly labored, and a layer of sweat was forming on her brow. "Miranda?"

Lenalee looked scared, and Val seemed on the edge of a small breakdown.

"What's going on?" Allen asked, looking from face to face. "Why isn't Miranda getting him down?"

"Allen. Lavi." Lenalee explained. "She can't release him."

"Why not?" Krory asked, though Lavi looked like he had already begun to figure it out.

"Miranda's not just holding Mark up. She's holding all of the gravity that's pushing him down. If she lets go ..."

Val swallowed, eyes shining.

Lavi finished the statement. "He'll just get crushed along with the innocence."

Quite a problem. And there was no answer.

Well ... no answer not involving a messing ending and one leftover traumatized orphan anyway.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Shiny, shiny, shiny," A small green dragon sang softly to himself. "All my little shiny ..."

He carefully moved the items about in his small 'hiding place,' trying to make it so he could look at all of his hoarded change, rocks, and jewelry at once. Sadly, his treasure trove had grown so much in the past few days that he couldn't properly display them all at once.

His treasures had all been collected at his new home; some he had found by exploring the outside area, and others he had gathered by nosing around in empty rooms within the castle.

Yes, Gremlin stubbornly clung to the belief that the Headquarters was a castle, it _was_ built for war after all. No, he didn't think a knight was going to pop out of one of the many empty rooms and chop off his head.

But ... the little dragon did take extra precautions when exploring new or dark areas. And he never, ever, went down to the deeper levels of the building. That was scary-caterpillar-lip-King's domain. The green lizard was sure that if he ever went down there, he would find devices of unspeakable torture and cages with old, rotting meat in them.

Besides, all of the fun stuff happened at ground level and up, and that was also where Brother was stuck doing all of the paperwork that needed to be done after moving and stuff like that.

Though, Gremlin didn't think he was too happy ... and his suspicions weren't just based upon the way Brother whined again and again about Sister and how the other coat-people were being horribly unfair to him. Brother seemed awfully, _awfully_ sad when he thought no one was looking ...

Looking at his collection, a glint of silver caught the dragon's eye. Carefully, Gremlin picked up the first treasure he had found. It was a beautiful locket that had come to him from the depths of the sea, and he took extra special care of it.

The smooth, metal orb shined from his care, and no longer bore any signs of the water it had come from. But, as Gremlin tried to pry it open with his claws yet again, the locket still refused to give away what ever secrets it held within.

With a rebuking glare at the stubborn object, Gremlin placed it away in his secret hole, hiding the treasures and their lair with a painting he had 'borrowed' from one of the lesser used hallways.

The green placed the painting in front of the hole he had melted into the wall himself, and made sure no sign of his secret place was within sight. It was perfectly hidden, as always.

Nodding to himself, Gremlin observed the room he was in. From the bookshelf he was perched upon he could see his whole 'domain' at once. It was one of Brothers rooms, but not the work-room. It was his sleep-room, though Brother didn't use it half as much as Gremlin thought he should.

Gliding down into the soft-cushion-like bed, Gremlin giggled when his landing made a small crater in the softness. Flapping, he set off to explore for more shiny items.

But first, Gremlin decided to visit Brother. Taking a gliding turn, he sped through hallways and over scientists and Finder's heads until he reached Brothers work-room, and landed on the bookshelf there.

Gremlin loved bookshelves. They gave him a view of the entire room, and he could stay was long as he wanted without bothering Brother. Speaking of Brother--

"But-but-but--!" The beret-waring man was exclaiming to his 'second-in-command.'

"Now see here Curly!" Reever was exclaiming right back. "You will work with this damned second-rate coffee and _you will like it_, or so help me--!"

"But I _want _LENALEE'S COFFEE!" Komui wailed, looking heartbroken.

Reever looked like he would like to strangle the childish Supervisor with his bare hands, but decided to only sigh instead. Gremlin sighed too. He had watched the two argue over something-or-other every day, and wanted to see if anything actually happened when they argued, besides yelling, and whining, and running around.

"I never should have let my precious Lenalee go to that horrible devious Bak Chan!" Komui was crying into his desk, head smooshed against his paperwork, probably smearing several documents with his tears. " He is probably doing horrible, indecent things to her!"

Reever groaned. "Chief ..."

"AND He's at least thirteen years older than she is!" He exclaimed, jumping up and scaring Johnny Gill, who had just walked in, into almost dropping all of the papers he had brought with him to the floor.

"Eh ... Supervisor?" Johnny asked, legs wobbling under the paperwork. "I have these for you to fill out ..."

That brought on another childish show of tears, and "Lenalee!"

Reever rubbed at his eyes, secretly wondering how long it would take to calm him down this time. But when he looked up, the desk was empty and Johnny was looking sadly at the mound of paper he had dropped when Komui had rushed by him.

Gremlin was giggling to himself at Brother's quick escape, and the creature wondered how long it would take them to catch Brother this time.

With a wing beat, he followed Reever and Johnny as they chased Komui down the hallways. Eventually, they came to one of Komui's 'private' labs, only to find--

Reever groaned, wondering when the Supervisor had had time to build the stupid thing, and Johnny gulped, trying to remember where he had put his ray gun.

Komui had done it again. The mad scientist was currently laughing evilly from the robot's cockpit, boasting how with the robots transformation capabilities, he would be able to fly himself to the Asian Branch in no time at all, and save his precious Lenalee by himself.

"Behold, Komurin 3.2!"**(1) **Reever and Johnny looked horrified, and immediately tried the commender the cockpit from Komui, who had accidentally left it open so they could hear his speech.

Gremlin looked at the machine, amazed. How had Brother made the thing so_ shiny?_

Taking a chance while the three people distracted each other, Gremlin spat onto the machines' side, melting a small hole into it. Slipping inside, the green lizard was delighted to find that the insides were just as shiny as the outside!

The little beast began gathering the shiniest pieces he could find, laughing to himself the whole time. What a good day for exploring this had turned out to be!

Meanwhile, Reever had wrestled Komui away from the controls, and was proceeding to turn the monster off. Or just smash the controls. Whichever worked better.

But before he could, the engine made a horrible, choking noise. The three paused, and then Komui exploded, "What did you do to my precious Komurin, you _beast_!?"

"I didn't do anything!" Reever yelled back.

The noises the engine were making intensified in both pace and urgency, making the machine sound like a dying cat as the cockpit door slapped shut, trapping the three inside.

The windshield whippers turned on and off.

A few missiles got ready for launch, then changed their minds and deactivated again.

Several button flashed red.

Reever gulped, Johnny was trying to hide behind his own arms, and Komui turned pale.

"_Self-destruction activated._" A robotic voice stated flatly. "_Program sequence will be initiated in ten seconds ... ten ..._"

"Why the hell did you build something with a self destruction mechanism!" Reever yelled at Komui.

"... _nine_ ..."

Carefully adjusting his glasses, the Supervisor answered, "Well, I recall _you_ asking me to put one in any new Komurin I developed, Mr. Wenham."

"... _eight_ ..."

"Can't we stop it?!" Johnny asked, inspecting the controls for a 'stop-self-destruction' button.

"... _seven _..."

Komui snapped his fingers. "Oh, yes! The 'stop' mechanism is right there!" He pointed at a small green button on the far left console.

" ... _six _..."

Reever jumped for it, but just before he could get his hand on it--

"... _five_ ..."

--the keyboard buttons melted off, turning into a pasty mush, only to reveal a Gremlin messing with the wiring.

"... _four_ ..."

"_Ahhhh_!" They all yelled at the lizard holding onto several shiny-looking nuts, bolts, screws, and cogs.

"... _three_ ..."

"Hi!" Gremlin chirped, looking very pleased with himself. "Look'it what I got!"

"... _two_ ..."

"My precious Komurin ...!" Komui wailed.

" ... _one_ ..."

'_After all of that ..._' Reever thought to himself sadly. '_Done in by one of Curly's stupid robots ..._'

" ... _zero_ ..."

**//DRDRDR//**

Inspector Malcolm C. Levrier watched with a slight fascination as the tea within his cup on the table wobbled slightly, and a muffled 'boom' sound from one of the upper floors shook the room.

The woman sitting across from him looked very confused by the noise, and questioned with: "Aren't the renovations done? I thought all construction had ceased."

"Indeed." Malcom said to himself, nibbling on a pastry he had made himself. "No matter. So, you are sure this mission is within your power Miss Fay?"

"Yes." Bridget answered with confidence. "I've had more practice than necessary on both aspects of the mission. Both in being a secretary and ... well ..." She gave a disarming smile. "... you know."

"And you both will be able to accomplish what I want with the staff I have given you?" The Inspector asked the two scientists also sitting at his table.

"Yes sir." Legory Peck answered with a decisive sniff.

"Of course." Mark Burroughs added, snatching up a sweet for himself.

Malcom nodded, a smile stapled on his face. "Good. Now ..." He pulled out a new plate of sweets from behind his chair and offered it to the small but select group. "Cookies anyone?"

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever groaned, clutching at his head. For a moment he wondered if he was dead, but then he felt the pressure of two other people and a dragon crushing his ribs as they laid on top of him.

Nope. Not dead. It wouldn't hurt this much if he were dead. Unless, of course ... he went to the Bad place ...

Reever opened his eyes, and saw a white beret laying a few inches away from his nose.

If he was dead, this was definitely the Bad place. No way would the Good place put him within two miles of Komui ...

"Section Leader Reever?" He heard Johnny croak out, "Are we dead?"

"Sadly, no. Not yet anyway." Reever believed Johnny was far too un-evil to go to the Bad place with him and Komui, and so scrapped the whole 'dead' idea. "Now, can you get off of me please?"

After getting up himself, Johnny found that the Supervisor was out cold and the little green lizard was beginning to giggle madly.

"Again, again, again!" Gremlin sang, before bursting with more laughter.

Reever wiggled out from the comatose Supervisor (finding the man's company much more preferable the way he was) and looked around.

The only light to go by were the few glowing red buttons that the dragon hadn't melted, as something was blocking the view from the cockpits cracked front windows ...

And then the small capsule they were in, that had somehow survived the explosion, fell from the wall it had apparently been smashed into, giving the passengers one final wild ride before coming to a complete stop.

"_Thank-you for waiting, now you may move freely about the cabin._" The robotic voice droned one last time. "_Have a very nice day._"

Reever, face-first on the ground, growled quietly at the impersonal voice.

Johnny looked very pale from the wall he was clinging to, where he stared at the very happy Gremlin.

"Good ride, good ride!" The green laughed, still hanging onto his new 'treasures.' "Brother! Good ride!"

Komui moaned quiet from where he lay.

"Lenalee's getting married." Reever supplied.

"LENALEE! HOW COULD YOU MARRY THAT OCTOPUS!?" Komui exclaimed, greatly upset yet again.

Gremlin continued giggling, and poked Komui with his tail, as his arms were full of shiny things. When he had Brothers full attention, he stated quite clearly, "If Sister _did_ marry an octopus, her children would have _many_ arms."

There was a moment of silence.

Johnny guffawed, then broke down, his own laughter rendering him quite speechless. Soon, Reever couldn't help but laugh too, the image too hilarious to ignore.

Komui looked horrified, before cracking a smile, then laughing with them.

Gremlin didn't get it. What he said was_ true_, octopuses had lots of arms. The green just looked at the three humans in confusion, before shrugging and lugging all of his pretty, shiny stuff back to his treasure hole.

Jump-hopping with a few wing flaps between to give him extra speed while he was too heavy to fly, Gremlin hopped through the broken windshield and made his way to Brothers sleep-room, wondering if he would have to make his secret hole bigger to fit all of his new shiny things ...

**//DRDRDR//**

"It's taking too long." Lavi told Allen quietly as they sat around a fire of Ammy's making, watching Speck, Ammy, and Sunny dig in the dark.

Kanda, Krory, and Lenalee had gone ahead on Smudge as the others tried one of the few ideas they had. The best idea they had was: digging a pit deep enough for Mark to lose some of his gathered momentum safely without being crushed as one of the dragons caught him and carefully slowed the boy down.

But, so far, the plan seemed doomed to fail. Miranda was at this point unable to move by herself, and sat in silence while staring straight ahead. She wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, maybe not even through the night.

Sunny had told her, very strictly, that she was not to die holding the boy-child in place. That she was to let go if the strain was too much. Or else they would just have to carry two carcasses to the Headquarters.

Miranda had nodded, but Allen wasn't sure if she had even really listened to the statement. He knew she would hold on until she simply couldn't anymore, and he didn't know whether that would kill her or not.

It would sure as hell kill Mark though.

Val, a silent but very much noticed spectator, was sitting next to Miranda. She gazed at her brother, floating in space and still clutching desperately at the egg in his arms. She didn't understand all of what was going on, but knew that if they let him down now, something very bad would happen.

Grinding his teeth, Allen watched Sunny, bright-yellow scales now covered in muck, as she brought up another claw load of dirt before going down again.

It wasn't going to be enough, they needed enough room for Speck to maneuver at least and enough length for the hole to work at all. They needed more space.

"I know." Allen said quietly back to Lavi's statement, and rattled his brain, trying to find a solution.

More space.

Slowly, an idea dawned on him. He would have to test it but ... it could work ...

He got up and walked over to the edge of the whole, looking down. The dragons had hit hard, compact dirt filled with gravel and rocks. They had dug down to barely one third of the length they would need.

Speck looked up at him, the whites of his eyes glowing.

It could work.

"Whatcha up too?" Lavi asked an inch right behind his left ear, making him jump. Allen never did figure out how Lavi could be as quiet as a ghost if he wanted too.

"I'm going to try something." Allen told him, gesturing toward the hole.

Lavi shrugged. "It's not like we have anything to lose."

The dragons hopped out quickly, curious to see what the small white-haired teen was going to do.

"I don't think your innocence will give us any more headway than they're digging will." Lavi told him, looking down at the hole, and then to the blond kid floating, stuck, in a _when_ that was a very bad _when_ to be.

"I'm not going to do that ..." Allen told him, hoping that if it worked _inside_ the Ark, it would work _outside_ it too.

".. then what are you going to do Beansprout?"

Allen felt a twinge of annoyance, but decided to ignore Lavi. Slowly, he though about what he was going to try to do, and how he was going to do it.

Stretching his arms out, as if black and white piano keys were beneath them, he mimed playing at the Fourteenth's piano, hoping and praying it would work.

Because he was out of ideas, and they were running on rapidly-diminishing borrowed time now.

He thought of the score, of the music, and Allen was slightly scared of how easily it came to him. Each note was burned into his brain as he played the song on the piano that wasn't there, and how the door open at the bottom of the hole within a moment.

Somehow, Allen wished it were harder to do such a task, that it would strain him in some way.

It didn't. It was as easy as breathing, and Allen was scared of what that could possibly mean.

"Wow," Lavi said with an awe filled glance at the 'door.' "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I." Allen mumbled back, then sighed. "At least we've got the space we need now."

The dragons were talking excitedly amongst themselves, slowly inching closer to the door.

"Allen!" Speck called, "Can we touch?"

"You can go in if you want to." Allen called back, now worrying if he had opened the right door.

Speck needed no extra encouragement before jumping in head first, doing quite a dive.

The two females hesitated, not quite sure about this strange void in front of them.

Speck poked his gray head out, chattering at Sunny that there was the most wonderful view inside, and that she would love it. That was all the yellow needed to jump in with the gray, Ammy quick to follow, grumbling about 'silly grays.'

Val looked with awe at the strange, purple space. She had seen a 'door' like it at the old Headquarters and had even gone through it when she was sick.

Slowly grasping the idea Allen had gotten, she hopped to her feet and jogged over to the older exorcist woman that had somehow saved her brother and put a reassuring hand on the lady's shaking shoulder.

"Don't worry," Val told her, "I think you'll be able to put him down soon. Allen's got a plan."

Miranda blinked, and slowly looked at the girl as if only just then realizing she were there.

The blond girl smiled. "He may have a _horrible_ sense of direction, but Allen does have a good head on his shoulders. He won't let us down."

Slowly, shakily, Miranda smiled back and nodded, gritting her teeth.

Just a little bit longer.

**//DRDRDR//**

Komui looked at the wreck his poor, poor Komurin 3.2 had become, and sighed. So much for seeing Lenalee anytime soon ...

Reever and Johnny were kicking at the bigger pieces of wreckage, seemingly venting their anger at almost being blown up in a very ... _constructive_ and ... _adult _manner.

"Supervisor?" An unfamiliar, female voice asked.

Turning, the man blinked. He was sure he had never seen this woman before either. He perfectly curled hair and unfamiliar uniform gave him the chills, but he tried to be polite. "Yes?"

She gave a small bow. "I am Bridget Fay, your new Secretary."

"... Excuse me?" Komui adjusting his glasses, as if the clarification of his vision would clear up the confusing conversation.

Reever and Johnny had stopped kicking, making the large lab strangely quiet.

"I'm to make sure you get all of your work done on time, and to manage your work hours."

"Wait," Reever interrupted. "You mean to tell me that you're going to be his babysitter from now on?"

The woman's eyebrow twitched slightly. "In layman's terms, yes. I'm going to be ... supervising the Supervisor."

"Well," Reever declared, marching towards the exit. "You can go ahead and _keep_ him, damn-it!"

"..."

"Good-luck," Johnny told her with a hand shake, before he, too, departed.

"Wait!" Komui yelled after them. "You can't just--"

"Bye!" And they closed the door with a decisive '_snap_.'

Apparently, they would and could abandon Komui to his new Secretary. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his robot had just blown up in their faces ...

"So," Bridget began. "How much work have you finished today?"

Komui hoped they would forgive him soon. Some inner instinct told him that his new ... _acquaintance _wouldn't be half as lenient or as easy to run away from as they were ...

**END 14. Time-Out**

**(AN)**

**(1)**Yes, there are higher numbered Komurin than 3. BUT, this model was based on number three's look and capabilities, hence the '3.2'

Well, I had fun writing this chapter, and remembered just why I love Speck and Gremlin so much ...

BUT, my poor, overworked Beta reader seemed to be going too slow looking it over ... so here it is! (I gave this to her almost a week ago ... I draw the line at a week, because I love getting reviews and giving you all something to read.)

I hope you all enjoyed reading certain parts of this just as I had fun writing them ...

Until next time!

-Knux33


	15. Moving On

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, there would be dragons. :)

**15. Moving On**

Speck was amazed. The door that Allen had used Not-Allen to open led to the most wonderful place. Sky and sea that went on forever, and one 'island' drifted in the middle of it. Speck said 'drifting' because, well ... the island was floating.

Nevertheless, it was beautiful. Speck knew that the white buildings and stone roads were probably older than the great Gold Dragon himself, and had survived the Dark Flood that had destroyed everything else back then.

Well, the island didn't _look_ old, that was for sure. Sunny had landed among the buildings, and was inspecting the stonework. Ammy was flying around the base, supposedly looking to see if the floating island was supported by something or not.

Speck himself was going back to the door-in-the-sky Allen had made for them, to tell the exorcists that they had _much_ room to catch Mark in now.

Flapping through the large opening in the sky and back into the night he had just left, Speck landed on the edge of the dirt hole, blinking and trying to make his eyes adjust to the darkness faster.

There was a lot more 'white' space in the pretty place, than in here.

"Where did the door open?" Allen asked, hoping it had opened in the right place. He had never tried opening in specific places inside the Ark before.

"In sky!" Speck exclaimed. "_Much_ room to fall! Safe!" The gray was happy to see Allen looked reassured by his answer. "Speck go wait now." The dragon told him, leaping again from night to day, and circled beneath the door, waiting.

Sunny was below him, and Ammy below her, just in case.

So they all waited.

**//DRDRDR//**

For a moment, just a moment, everything went black, and Mark wondered if he had died. But the fall continued and light was again present, as was the pure blue sky.

But, in the sky, was a very large door, and that seemed horribly confusing to Mark, as doors usually didn't hang in space on most normal days. Well, he didn't usually fall from terrific heights on normal days either, but that was besides the point.

What _was _to the point, was that he felt something solid beneath him, and saw a mass of gray before he felt the pressure of being stopped from falling.

Speck, who Mark knew the gray arms belonged to, dropped quite a bit at the initial impact, but gently swooped down with him, before landing and carefully placing Mark on the ground, egg and all.

"Okay?" The gray asked, inspecting the blond child all over for bumps or bruises.

"I ... I'm fine." Mark didn't sound half as surprised as he felt. Dazed and very confused, he jabbered: "How did you ... when ... _how_?"

"Mi-ran-duh." Speck explained.

"You ... ran?"

"No," Speck corrected him. "_Mi_-ran-duh."

It was around then Mark noticed his surroundings, and stared, eyes wide. "Where are we?" The child asked very quietly.

"Arrrrrk." Speck voiced, "That what Allen said."

"... am I dead?" Mark asked, still very quiet, and holding onto the egg for dear life. "Because I don't remember ever seein' a place like this before."

"No, no, no!" Speck reassured him cheerfully. "It very pretty yes, but no dead."

"... I'm confused. And tired." Mark thought for a moment, blond eyebrows furrowed in thought. "And where's everybody else?"

"Waiting for you two snails to hurry up and get up here, I daresay." A familiar, imperial voice intoned. Ammy glided above their heads, lazily flapping every few moments.

"Sunny has already gone back. Now, I am too, whether or not you two do so is up to you." She added, beginning to fly away.

"Come, M-arrrk!" Speck squawked, voice slipping a bit on the name in his excitement. "Al-len was sad! Now not sad!"

"I'm a-comin'," Mark scrambled up, holding the egg in one hand while he climbed with the other. He was a little less dazed, and had accepted his confusion as something that was bound to happen a lot as long as he was in the dragon handler's company.

But, before Speck could take off, the gray noticed Sunny had come back, and three people were on her back. One was Allen.

Speck re-folded his wings, curious. Why was Allen coming inside the Ark with Val and not-so-nice-person?

"Hey, are we goin' or not?" Mark asked, just finishing strapping himself onto the dragon.

"Not." Speck replied, watching Sunny come down.

Mark fell quiet, catching sight of the, still brown-from-digging, yellow dragon.

"_Mark_!" His sister exploded the second the dragon touched the ground, causing him to flinch. It wasn't a 'Oh-I'm-so-glad-you're-alive!' yell, it was a 'You're-in-so-much-trouble-you'd-better-run-_now_' yell.

"Speck, can you take off now?" The boy tried, watching the girl fight furiously with her own straps.

"No. Why?"

"Just asking."

With that, Mark deftly unbuckled himself, and slipped down from Speck, carefully placing the egg on the ground in front of the small dragon. With a quick look at Sunny, he saw his sister was dismounting just as he was, though with an angry scowl apparent on her face.

"Speck, on the event that my sister strangles me for some reason-or-another, you are charged with bringing the egg where it belongs. Okaybyeee--" The blond ran for his life, as his sister followed.

"How _dare_ you fall off of a dragon! Do you hear me Mark!? _How dare you_ scare me out of ten years out of my young life--!" She screamed at him as she chased him through the empty streets, making Speck quite confused.

"V-_al_ ... not happy?" Speck asked the general group nearby.

Allen shrugged, scratching the back of his head. "I guess ... that's just how she shows just how worried she was ..."

"I'm sticking with what I see with my own eyes," Sunny declared. "And what I see is: most human are crazy, impulsive, and quite unintelligent. Except Miranda." She added as an afterthought.

Howard simply kept his mouth shut.

Speck decided that the question was irrelevant, and licked Allen from his shoes up when the teen hopped off of Sunny.

"_Speck_--!" Allen sputtered as the gray licked him again, "S-stop! That tickles!"

The little dragon paused, and Sunny seemed shocked by his behavior. "What?" Speck asked them all. "Al-_len_ dirty. Now no dirty."

"Now he's dirty with _slime_ you crazy Gray," The yellow stated, rolling her eyes. She followed by grabbing the egg herself, seemingly not trusting the strange-minded gray with its care. "Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that little head of yours Speck ..."

Link looked revolted by the spit-bath Allen had just gotten, and was inching away from the wet exorcist.

"Not-so-nice-person dirty too." Speck said, eying the Inspector with a determined look.

Howard Link has done a lot of things within his lifetime. He has run from akuma, fought akuma, and watched other people study them. He has given paperwork, discreetly lost paperwork, and filled out paperwork. He has observed people, spied on people, and even killed people.

But never, ever, had Howard experienced something quite like running from a smallish-gray dragon trying to give him a spit-bath with it's tongue ...

Allen watched Link run ... and run ... and run ...

_Wow_, Allen thought to himself. _I didn't know Link could move that fast ..._

Sunny snorted and took off, heading for the exit with the egg held protectively in one foreclaw.

Allen himself tried to get a bit drier, shaking out his coat a bit, before walking over to an unused door. In light of recent events, he had decided that he really couldn't 'keep' Mark and Val. They were kids, unarmed and unable to take care of themselves, and it would only be dangerous to take them to the Headquarters.

At best, they would be thrown out anyway, and at worst ... well, Allen didn't really want to think about the worst. He just wanted to get them somewhere safe.

And, he had one place in mind that could work ...

Carefully, he opened the door, hoping that he was right about the person he was meeting ...

**//DRDRDR//**

"No." She said.

"But--" Allen tried, watching as the young woman gathered her coat and hat for another day at work.

"I said no, Mr. Walker," She said, trying to sound stern.

But, looking at his hopeful face and blood-red scar, she began again with a sigh. "Look, Allen, I know you're trying to do these kids a favor, but I just can't take in two children I don't even know and expect them to be happy. I work every night and most of the time I'm at home too. I _am _an Officer you know." She added, giving him a small smile.

"I know," Allen said, looking downcast. "But ... Officer Moore ... I was hoping that ... maybe ..."

"Allen ..." Moore pointed to the front door of her house. "Could you please put my front yard back?" She sounded calm, but Allen guessed that it was probably a bit freaky having the area outside of your front door change, while the windows and other view remained the same.

Allen thought for a moment. "But ... doesn't it get a little ..." He glanced around the large living room he was sitting in, and thought of how this house was probably build to house at least three people. "... Lonely?"

"I work all of the time." She snapped, securing her helmet on her head. "I don't have time to babysit kids."

"But you won't be babysitting!" Allen said, really trying to push the subject. "They almost take care of themselves!"

"And feed them. And clothe them. And make sure the bathe themselves regularly. And take care of them if they get sick. And pay for their schooling." The list rolled off of the woman's tongue as if she had rehearsed the reasons to herself before.

"I'm sure they could ... uh ..." Allen sighed, rubbing his forehead. "But I can't think of anyone else ..." He said quietly to himself.

"Look, Allen," Moore said sympathetically. "Just give them over to an orphanage or something."

"They'd just refuse to stay." Allen sighed.

"We'll they'd have to stay there anyway. It's not like they can live on the streets."

"They can and have. They were living on their own for at least a few weeks before I found them."

"..." The Officer took off her glasses for a moment, and polished them on a spare napkin, thinking, before replacing the lenses with a resigned moan. "Fine, fine, I'll _meet_ them."

Allen grabbed the woman in a hug, exclaiming his thanks as he ran out the front door (which he had temporarily connected to the Ark) and poked his head out, hoping to find Mark and Val quickly while Link was still busy trying not to get ... 'bathed.'

Somehow, Allen believed transporting the kids to a new home wasn't on Howard's list of 'things-that-the-Ark-should-be-used-for.' The Inspector had already been moodily silent since using it to save Mark, and was probably only not speaking out against the ancient object's use altogether because in saving Mark they had also saved the innocence he had grabbed onto.

Luckily, it was surprisingly easy to find the pair ...

"Say it!"

"Ow!"

"Say it!"

"Ooow!"

"_Say it_!"

"Stop, stop! I'll say it, okay?" Mark gave in, flat on his face as Val straddled him, her fist pressing his face into the stone ground.

"Well?" Val asked, having both of his arms pinned. "Say it."

Mark mumbled something that Allen couldn't hear as he walked up behind them. "Ow!" The boy exclaimed as Val twisted one of his arms a bit in an awkward looking direction.

"I can't hear you," Val said in a tone most dominant children used on their less-aggressive siblings.

"You're the queen of-all-that-is, and I'm sorry for displeasing you for almost-getting-squished-by-a-fall, and I, snail-of-your-boots, will try never to get my less-than-worthless-butt killed again! OKAY?!" The blond yelled quite loudly and quickly, as if used to similar torments.

"Good." Val got off of her brother, and let him get up. She still looked a little annoyed though. "If you ever worry me like that again," She said dangerously, looking torn between growling at him or crying at him. The effect of the conflicting emotions turned her face a very vivid red.

Mark was rubbing at his sore arms. "Believe me, I don't want to live through anything like that again either." He gave her a small, sheepish look. "Now ..." He held his arms out. Giving a small, discreet wink at Allen behind her. "... Are you going to hug me or not?"

She snorted. "Of course, you idiot!" And then preceded to tackle him to the ground.

"_Hey_!"

"What? It's just a hug!"

Allen laughed, fully-revealing his presence. Val did a small double take.

"Did you see all that?"

"Yup," Allen smiled at the two of them. "Come-on, I want you two to meet a friend of mine."

**//DRDRDR//**

Officer Moore sat in her living room, waiting.

She had been given quite a shock; seeing Allen walk into her home unannounced, looking far different from the first time she met him. Quietly, she pondered the differences.

His hair was shorter, and seemed to almost defy gravity as it stood up.

His scar ... Moore's mouth turned downwards in a frown. She couldn't be sure, but it looked larger, like someone had cut him again in the same spot, only with a larger knife. That larger knife had somehow filled in the 'star' at the top of it too. Or, like it had re-opened and torn itself a wider hole in the boy's face ...

But the most alarming change of all, had been 'Allen' overall. His cheeks were thinner, and his gray eyes seemed less open to the world, like they were trying to hide something. He seemed like he had grown up a bit ... or like he had been in a war. Moore had seen other men, older men, with similar looking faces. Drawn out, with eyes that tried to hide the horrors they had seen.

But ... Allen wasn't quite like them, Moore finally decided, looking at her helmet in her hands. He wasn't hollowed out. He hadn't given up or lost something, like other soldiers had.

_Maybe that's because he's still fighting ... _Moore didn't know where that thought came from, but she shook it from her head with a scowl at the clock. If Allen didn't get here soon, she was going to be seriously late for her patrols ...

Her front door was opened slowly, and the woman quickly stood up to welcome in Allen and the two children, but froze when she saw them.

'Taking care of themselves,' was the least of it! The two children were wearing clothing that looked like it had been worn for days!

And why were they looking at her like she was some sort of disgusting insect or something?

"Guys," Allen told the two blonds that were trying to hide behind him, "This is Ms. Moore. Officer Moore, this is Val," He gestured to the girl on his left, "And Mark." To the boy on his right.

"Hello." She said politely, trying to get a better look at the two of them. 'Mark'? Was this some sort of sick joke? **(1)** By God, the children were as skinny as Allen was!

There were two grumbled replies. Allen looked surprised. "What's wrong?" He asked them.

They glared suspiciously at Moore. Well, Moore just glared right back. It wasn't like she _wanted_ them under her roof. It was just like she told Allen earlier, they couldn't be forced to be happy with such an arrangement.

Getting down on his knees so he could speak eye-to-eye with the two, the three got into a group huddle.

Moore couldn't catch all of what was said, but she distinctly heard the words 'copper' ('Cop'/Police Officer) and 'orphanage' used angrily several times.

Allen seemed to be trying to calm them down and explain that Moore wasn't going to hand them off to child services, and than she was going to just take care of them.

"_What_!?" The two exclaimed, looking cheated.

"We're going with _you_ to that 'Headquarters' place you've been talking about!" Val stated the words like they were Law.

"You're not goin' to dump us here." Mark backed his sister. "You're stuck with us."

Allen gave them both a long, hard look. The two fidgeted a little, not sure what the older teen was about to say, but both were pretty sure they weren't going to like it.

Finally, Allen sighed. "I can't keep you guys with me. It's too dangerous." Before the two could object, he continued with: "You both know I'm right."

Val looked defiant. "It doesn't matter. Besides, you and Speck and see the danger coming. _And _fight it."

"That doesn't matter."

"Yes it does!" Mark tried. "We can't fight it! You guys fight it!" Moore wondered if the kid was talking about demons ... or 'akuma,' as Allen called them.

"But," Allen said quietly to them both, "You don't attract it."

"..." Moore leaned in a bit to heard what the boy was saying, this was interesting. She knew Allen was an exorcist, and hunted down akuma. But ... she hadn't known that they were ... attracted to him?

"Because of this," Allen was explaining. Moore's eyes widened just a bit as he removed the glove on his left hand to reveal blackened flesh. Hadn't that been ... red, before? "They come trying to kill me. And Speck. And any other exorcist. So, we were these," Allen gestured to his coat. "So that they can easily find us, instead of killing all of the people within the vicinity, looking."

"But _you _kill _them_." Val pointed out. "That makes demons pretty stupid in my book."

"Not all the time." Allen said softly.

"What do you mean, 'not all of the time?'" Mark asked. Moore was curious too, an inched a little bit closer.

Allen put his glove back on a bit self consciously, and stood up, looking down at the two kids. "I mean exactly what I said. Exorcists die fighting akuma along with ... other things."

The two blonds looked up at him with big blue eyes, listening.

"I have to fight the akuma, along with everyone else." Allen said softly to them. "And if I have too, I'll die with them too. That's why you two can't come with me and Speck." He gave them a small smile. "We might not be able to there for you. But--"

Allen waved a hand at Officer Moore. "--She can. I know her, she's a good person. She'll take care of you two just fine."

"But Allen--" Mark said.

"--What about you?" Val interrupted.

Allen gave them both a hug. "I'll visit when I can, to make sure you guys are all getting along." Allen gave a smile to Moore. "Right?"

"Right," She agreed, thought she wasn't sure what she was agreeing to exactly.

"See? You'll be fine. Bye guys," He released the two, and went towards the front door. "Make sure not to be too much trouble for Ms. Moore, and don't eat anything that looks weird!"

The three people waved 'Good-Bye' in a daze.

And with a soft 'click,' the door was closed.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then, like twin bolts of lighting, the two kids rushed to the door, Moore only about a half step behind. With three hands yanking it, the door was only closed for about a moment, stubborn beneath their fingers, before they forced it open. The paved streets and horse-drawn carriages greeted them, but no Allen was visible.

Twilight was upon the town, and the street lamps were being lit.

The kids were shocked, and so was Moore (though the Officer was also glad to get her front door back to normal.) Softly, Moore closed the door, and the trio shuffled back into her living room. They were quiet for a moment more.

Moore looked at Mark.

Mark looked at Val.

Val looked at Moore.

Moore looked at Val.

Val blinked. "So ... hi?"

Moore nodded. "Hello."

"So ..." Val tried. "Where do we sleep?"

"In ... Marc's room I guess."

Mark blinked at her. "I have a room already?"

"No! I mean--" Moore took a deep breath. "--yes. You'll both share a room. It's a little bare at the moment, but it used to be my brother-in-law's room ..."

"Did he and ... your sister?" Val asked for clarification. When More nodded, she continued. "Did he and your sister move out recently?"

Moore turned away from them, eyes stinging slightly. "No. Well yes, but ..."

"It's okay," Val said, understanding quickly. "Our parents are dead too."

Moore swallowed, and put on a brave face. "Well, lets go get you two settled then." And marched up the stairs to the second floor where the bed rooms were located.

"I think she's not that bad. For a Copper," Mark whispered.

"We'll see." Val whispered back. "But I think you're right. Plus, she's a friend of Allen's."

_Their not bad_, Moore was thinking to herself. _For a pair of street urchins. Besides, Allen should have put _some_ sort of sense into their heads._

**//DRDRDR//**

"Are we _going_ yet?" Ammy drawled, bored.

"Not until Allen's done." Lavi said reasonably, stomping out the fire they had been using. The sun was beginning to rise.

"As much as I want those brats to leave," Ammy continued, "Couldn't the white-haired-one simply of used the ..." She waved a claw in the Ark door's general direction. "'Thing' when we got to where we are going?"

"Nope." Lavi chirped.

"Whyever _not_?" The orange demanded, determined to get an answer.

Lavi smiled at her, but his one green eye was moving, making sure Miranda and Sunny were out of earshot. They were.

"Well, Allen probably wouldn't be allowed to. And, the 'brats' would have been put to work at Headquarters."

"Work?" The frilled head cocked to one side, Ammy glared at him for a better explanation.

Lavi just shrugged at her. "Well ... the Order does need more Finders ... scientists ... human test subjects ..."

"Test subjects?" Ammy asked. "For what sort of tests, Servant?"

Lavi shrugged again. Ammy continued to glare. The red-head ignored her.

She 'huff'-ed at him. "Well, If _you_ are not going to tell me, I will just ask Smudge when we get there."

Lavi seemed curious. "Why Smudge?"

"Because he always answers any question asked of him." She replied. "Don't tell me you did not notice."

Lavi laughed. "Yeah ... but I don't think he'll be able to answer that _particular_ question for you."

"Then the black will get help."

"From who?"

"From whomever is _there_ of course."

Lavi sighed. "I don't think many people know the answer to that question ..."

"Then why don't you tell me, Oh Servant-that-knows-everything?"

He winked with his one eye jokingly. "Because I want you to figure out things for yourself, Oh Miss-high-and-mighty."

She glared.

He smiled.

With one final snort, Ammy curled up around herself moodily. "Darn Servant needs to learn how to be less disobedient." Lavi swore he heard her grumble.

He laughed to himself, and walked over to where Sunny and Miranda were sitting, watching the sun begin to rise.

From here, at least, it looked like it would be a beautiful day.

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever looked at his paperwork, exhausted. Sure, the Supervisor was taken care of at the moment, but he (and the rest of his team) had more work to do than they could handle anyway.

But, a lot of that work was also being taken up by the new workers. The Science Section had been divided into three sections; one for the regular data gathering/analyzing process for the search on innocence, and the other two for the development of ... things.

Reever burrowed more throughly into his paperwork, frowning. The two other leaders of the newly made Sections bothered him. They claimed to be working on more offensive and defensive weapons against akuma for normal humans to use, but Reever had his own suspicions as to what they were working on ...

"Section Leader Reever," Johnny Gill whispered into his ear, buggy glasses as large as ever.

"Yep?" Reever grunted, not too excited about being interrupted while working.

"How is it that the Supervisor can run so fast while wearing sandals?"

Reever's mind blanked a moment at the unexpected question. "Ya know Johnny ... I'm not exactly sure—"

At that moment, the named mad scientist ran through the lab, scattering loads of paper work and leaping over objects in his way. In moments he was gone, but then—

"Come back here _now_!" The Bridgett woman yelled, looking furious and running just as fast. "You've got another of hour worth of signing paperwork before lunch!" She leaped over the same objects cluttered around the lab, much to the delight of some of the scientists close enough to see the flash of her skirt.

Soon she was out the door and gone too.

Silence prevailed.

"Hey," One scientist pointed out to another, "Your nose is bleeding Frank."

"Uh-huh." The said man looked dazed, but strangely happy.

Reever tapped Johnny on the shoulder. "I've got a better question for you." He said. "How is it that Ms. Fay can keep up with our Supervisor, while wearing _heels_?"

**END 15. Moving On**

**(1)**Officer Moore thinks that away about Mark's name because her sister's fiancé (Both a priest, and her Brother-in-Law turned akuma) was named Marc. From Vol number 1.

Ahh ... I luv you ALL. The reviewers, the 'fav'-ers, and the 'alert'-ers ...

I'm glad this little peice of work makes you all happy from time to time ... AND my beta is fast at her work again! :)

In the next chapter, Gremlin eats someone's face ...

Gremlin: Really!

Knux33: No.

Gremlin: Aw ...

Don't forget that reviews ARE LOVE ...


	16. 16

**Title:** Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, THERE WOULD BE DRAGONS.

**16.**

Black wings circled, looking below with a curious eye. "So, this is to be our new home?"

Kanda nodded.

"Yes," Lenalee said, skating slowly down on air.

Krory and Kanda held on tight to their straps as Smudge carefully descended to the large roof, as the back leg-holder straps were still mostly snapped, and poor Arystar was holding on mostly with his arms alone.

Gently, Smudge set himself down onto the rooftop, landing at last. Home at last.

With a relived sigh, he crouched down, making it easier for both Kanda and Krory to dismount from his back. Lenalee set herself down next to them, de-activating her boots.

Smudge looked at her curiously. "Are you sure you are all right after flying all that way by yourself?" The black asked her, not sure about her boots abilities.

Lenalee smiled at the dragon, running her fingers around her ear to catch some hair that had gotten partially onto her face, tickling her cheeks. "I'm fine."

Arystar took a deep breath, and let it out, glad to have the slightly-frightening ordeal of hanging onto a not-so-reliable harness over and done with.

Kanda glared around the roof top, apparently searching for something. He scowled. "So," The samurai addressed Smudge. "How are we supposed to get inside from here?"

"...Um ..." Smudge looked around, but failed to see any obvious entry point from the roof to the inside of the building.

Lenalee covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at the dragon's sad expression and Kanda's annoyed one. They were quite a pair.

With a gasp she felt the flat, rough, roof beneath her feet begin to give way, and the girl quickly jumped away from the unstable spot, looking down.

The ground was ... melting?

A green nose poked its way up through the now mushy ceiling, and soon became a fully revealed face. "Sister!" Gremlin cheered, wiggling the rest of the way out, like a hatchling escaping the shell. "Sister, Sister, Sister! Sister's back!"

Smudge watched the little one with a smile, and Krory was nervously inspecting the small hole the green dragon had made in the roof. Kanda just seemed as annoyed as ever.

"Oi, bug!" The samurai asked. "Is there anyway into the building from up here?"

Gremlin had been occupying himself by perching on Lenalee's shoulder, nuzzling her cheek affectionately, but his head swiveled in Kanda's direction at the question.

"Yup!" The green chirped, flapping over to the hole he himself had made. "That way." The pronounced proudly.

"Gremlin ..." Lenalee giggled at him. "I don't think we can fit in that way."

"Oh?" The dragon said, looking from the small 'foot-in-diameter' hole, to the 'more-than-a-foot-in-diameter' people and looked enlightened. "Oh."

Smudge rolled his eyes. He wasn't sure whether Speck would make such a mistake, but the green and gray seemed remarkably similar in brain capacity.

Gremlin was thinking, and then seemed to get an idea. With a strange sound deep in his throat (_gurgle-hiss_), Gremlin spat onto the edges of his hole, and watched with satisfaction as the breach widen under his ministrations. Soon, the hole in the roof was wide enough for the humans, and had stopped hissing around edges that had been eating away at the woodwork.

"Big enough now?" Gremlin asked, looking very satisfied with his work.

Smudge eyed the opening, nodding. "Very good," The larger dragon praised. "I think they will all be able to get in this way." The Back dragon, took large to get inside, was perfectly happy to lay on the roof and soak up some sun while everyone else was inside.

Kanda walked to the edge, jumping in and landing in a crouch, looking around. The room was a very fine one, obviously a bedroom for whoever wanted it. But it had the stiff, clean look of a room that hadn't be used in quite some time, if ever.

Lenalee helped Krory down, and Gremlin flew in after them, the little green wanted to lead them to the Supervisor's Office, and that was fine with Kanda. He wanted to go on a 'official' mission as soon as possible, to test out his re-forged sword properly.

"Bye-bye Smudge!" Gremlin called back in farewell to the larger beast.

A deep-throated chuckle followed the group into the hall as they followed the lizard gliding lazily so they could keep an easy pace with him.

"So," Lenalee said, looking with interest at the lavish hallway and bedrooms they passed. "Has anything interesting been happening?"

"Yup!" Gremlin told her, doing a small loop-de-loop in mid-air. "I looked for shinny things. Brother made a _big _shiny. Lotslotslots of fun." The green giggled. But then became a bit downcast. "Then boring."

"..." Krory didn't always understand what the less articulate dragons were saying, but he understood the drooping head and half-hearted wing beats. "What happened?" The pale man asked, voicing the question Lenalee was undoubtedly thinking.

Gremlin growled, but not at them. "Mean-lady."

"Who?" Lenalee asked, thinking of the sometimes overzealous nursing staff.

"Mean-lady." Gremlin repeated, apparently refusing to call the woman anything else. "Lady bothers Brother, and is trying to steal Gremlins shinys."

Arystar and Lenalee glanced at each other, both equally confused, while Kanda rolled his eyes in a couldn't-care-less manner.

"She's trying to steal ... what exactly?" Lenalee asked.

"Gremlin show Sister!" The green cheeped, happy at the chance to show off his collection. "After Sister say 'hi' to Brother."

The green was no longer distressed, the matters with the 'Mean-lady' apparently unimportant compared with his 'Brother' and 'Sister.'

Soon, the hallway lead them to a larger room, apparently for meetings, before going into another hall, and coming to a large lab. Familiar faces peered up from the towers or paper and books, recognition dawned.

Johnny Gill was the first to greet them with a smile and hug for Lenalee, and Reever staggered over, a smile on his own tired face. He lead them the rest of the way to Komui's new office, Gremlin preoccupied with nosing through the scientist's stuff to see if anything 'shiny' had mysteriously appeared since his last visit.

Poor Johnny was stuck trying to make sure the curious dragon didn't overturn any of the larger stacks and bury anyone beneath the paper, or steal anything important that also happened to be shiny ...

Surprisingly, there was a woman sitting in a desk right by the office door that seemed to have enough free time to be able to look slightly bored, while the rest of the science section was scrambling to get things done. What was a real shock though, was that she denied them entry.

"The Supervisor does not have time for visitors at this moment." Bridget intoned as Reever guided the exorcists to the Supervisor's new office door.

Lenalee was shocked. She'd never seen this woman before, and wasn't quite sure what to do. But Reever seemed well prepared for this situation.

"They're exorcists that have just gotten back for a mission and need to report in." He said quite slowly and clearly, as if daring the woman to object. "Surely they're report is a higher priority than any sort of paperwork?"

The two glared at one another, and the exorcists waited. Lenalee was trying to figure out why the close scrutiny of a secretary was being used on her brother, and Arystar was nervous, something telling him all was not quite right. Kanda stood like a statue made of stone, no emotions visible besides the usual annoyance.

Bridget finally gave in and nodded.

Reever rushed the group in and quickly closed the door behind them once they were all in, as if using the door as an extra precaution against the woman just outside. Komui jumped up from his chair, the top of his hat only just making it over the top of the stacks of paperwork.

Amazingly, the floor was only lightly sprinkled with papers, and bits of the expensive tile that was the floor could still be seen in some places.

"_Lenalee_!" The man exclaimed in a way that was somehow childish and adult at the same time, and ran around the mass of paper and grabbed his sister and a hug.

Kanda rolled his eyes while both Reever and Krory smiled at the sight.

Lenalee hugged him back, quickly getting out a few fragmented questions about the woman outside. Komui loosened his grip and held her at arms length, completely childish for a moment, ignoring her questions. "That horrible creature Bak didn't try anything did he?"

"No!" Lenalee said, slightly exasperated. But before she could ask anything more, the group heard a ruckus building outside.

"_In_!" something familiar demanded with a squawk from outside.

"You get away from that door--" A similarly familiar voice commanded, sounding like a reproving mother.

"_Let_. IN." The first voice repeated, it's tone becoming more shrill.

"You are not getting past me you disobedient _beast_--" The female voice growled, and several loud 'thunk' sounds were heard through the wood.

Reever sighed and Komui gulped. The three exorcists looked confused.

"As you can probably tell ..." Reever explained. "Gremlin and Ms. Fay don't like each other much."

"What's she working with this time?" Komui asked curiously, trying to identify what was making the 'thunk' noises.

"I think she had a broom last time I checked." Reever told him, like it was some sort of sporting match and he was telling them what sort of club a golfer was using.

There was a louder 'thunk.'

"Does this happen ... often?" Krory dared to say.

"At least twice a day." Reever groaned. "Some people are taking _bets_ now."

"Bets on, what, exactly?" The pale man asked.

"Whether Gremlin gets in or not." Komui said, rubbing his glasses clean on his sleeve. "Reever, is the score 7-6 Gremlin? Or 7-6 Bridget?"

"I think it's about a tie at the moment ..."

Something was slammed against the door with a 'thwack!'

Kanda seemed more frustrated by the useless contest every minute, but kept silent. He could wait.

Lenalee seemed a little less worried about her brother's predicament, and Krory seemed very curious as to if the dragon would make it through the door or not.

The outcome was decided when the middle of the wooden door began to look a little ... melted. The wood virtually dissolved in moments, and Gremlin flew through the opening he had made, flying straight under Komui's hat.

A little later, and Ms. Fay opened the door herself, holding what had probably been a broom ... until it had mostly dissolved. The woman looked surprisingly calm, especially after the furious sounding noises the group had heard only a few moment prior to her entry.

"Where is _it_." Her quiet tone demanded an answer.

Komui looked innocently at her. "Why ... where is what Ms. Fay?"

Lenalee was trying very hard not to show a sign of laughter. Reever and Kanda rolled their eyes in unison, and Krory stared off at something in the distance.

"Where is that _beast_, Mr. Lee. I know it's in here." Bridget was scanning the room with her eyes, and Lenalee was worried she would figure out where the little dragon was hiding.

"What beast?" Komui said, with the same confused/innocent tone he had used before.

"The lizard that demands to be disturbing your work twenty-four hours a day, Supervisor." Slowly, the woman turned her searching eyes too him. "Tell that _creature_, that if it destroys another door it will be locked up and shoved in a closet for the rest of its time here, sir. Good-day." And, abruptly, the door was closed yet again, and the woman was back to her 'post.'

Komui let out a sigh, and Gremlin poked his head out from under the brim of the man's hat.

"Mean-lady." The green dragon growled, and stuck out a long, pink-ish tongue in the woman's general direction.

Lenalee couldn't help but laugh at the dragons childish mode of revenge.

Gremlin slipped out from under Komui's hat (where he could fit quite comfortably) and switched to the man's shoulder. With one loving lick on Komui's cheek, Gremlin took off and landed on his favorite spot, the top of the bookshelf, to watch the rest of the proceedings.

Komui rubbed absentmindedly at the wet cheek, and gave Lenalee another smile. Lenalee smiled back, though it seemed small. "Brother, why is that woman your secretary?"

"Hmm ..." Komui thought for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I think it's just to stop me from having any fun. But, we have more important things to talk about!" The Supervisor stalked over to his desk, glaring at the mounds of paperwork that obscured it's wood surface.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked, worry barley evident in his voice.

"Well ..." Krory began, automatically volunteering himself. "They're probably going to come soon. We were ... delayed on the way here, so we decided to split the group and go ahead just in cast the Headquarters was in desperate need of exorcists."

Komui nodded. "Well ... we do need exorcists." He turned, and faced them. "Okay, start from the beginning. Kanda first. I want to know exactly what's happened, and not just what Bak's been sending me."

Kanda stepped forward, glad to finally get down to it. So, he began with when he and the idiot rabbit were following a racing Isaac to the Old Headquarters ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Howard was annoyed.

And covered in dragon spit. The small beast could be very determined when he felt like it.

The gray monster was looking far too please with himself as they flew with the other two dragons the last stretch to Headquarters, and Allen seemed hopeful that the rest of the flight would pass in silence.

Howard was annoyed with the white-haired exorcist too. The British teen had used the Ark not once, but _twice_ without permission, and Link was irked that both occurrences had happened under his watch. More than 'irked' actually, but he wasn't going to bother being angry about it now.

Howard would have plenty of time to be angry at Walker when his superior was glaring at him, mustache furrowed in a frown, and rebuking words sharply coming out of the superior's mouth. Then Link would be angry, so he didn't feel as humiliated about it.

And kind of excuse was '_Well ... a dragon was trying to ... lick me, sir._'?

It was _no kind_ of excuse! And he would probably have to keep an eye on Walker even when they did get to the new Headquarters, despite everything.

This wasn't the type of job Link liked to have prolonged, but with the data they already had, it was clear the exorcist shouldn't be aloud to wander around by himself.

Not when it was a very high possibility that he would turn into--

"Allen?" The gray dragon asked, interrupting Link's private thoughts. "What will new Home be like?"

"I'm not sure." Allen told the creature truthfully. "I haven't been there before."

Speck seemed confused. "Then, why Al-_len_ go-ing?"

"Because," Allen tried to explain. "That's where ... well, that's where everyone else is."

"M-ark not." The gray said. "Or V-al."

"They have their own home now. And you'll like a lot of the people there, I'm sure."

"What kind-of pe-ople there Allen?"

"Well ..." Allen thought for a moment. "There's Komui, Reever, and everyone else in the Science Section. Jerry, the rest of the cooks. The rest of the exorcists. The Finders. Umm ..." Allen thought a bit more. "I think that's it ..."

Speck was in awe. "So many!"

"Not really," Allen said. "There's a lot more people in cities and the rest of the world."

"Al-len _know_ that many!?" Speck was dazzled.

"No, no!" Allen was quick to explain. "It's just, I was trying to tell you how many more people there were that I _don't _know."

The gray pondered on this statement for a while, thinking. "Al-len" The dragon asked. "There are many, many, many pe-ople the are ... everywhere?"

"Yes," Allen said, hoping the dragon had gotten the point.

"Like a cities ... and pe-ople places ... Allen," Speck began, "Are there drag-on places too?"

"No." Link cut in. "There are no ... dragon places."

"Why not, NotSoNice?"

Link darkened at the ... nickname. "Because, until quite recently, there were. No. Dragons."

"Aw," Speck sighed, then perked up a bit. "But, now we-here. So, there should-be drag-on places!"

Sometimes, the beast infuriated Howard. He decided that if he was ever going to be talking to one of the creature again, he would do so with one that was sensible and could speak, _properly_.

Allen laughed at the dragon's 'logic.' "Yeah, I guess we will have to find a place for all of you, now won't we?"

"I agree." Ammy rumbled back at them. "We need suitable quarters. None of this, balcony, business. First, I demand a bed."

Lavi guffawed from her back. "Good luck with _that_! You'd have to get enough resources for two homes just to make the _bed frame_!"

Ammy snorted. "Like _you_ would use two houses. Servant, you don't need two dwellings for yourself; while _I_, on the other hand, _need_ a place to sleep."

"I wouldn't mind a pillow." Sunny spoke up. "A reeeeally _big_ pillow."

Ammy huff-ed. "You'll get your pillow _after_ I get my bed."

"Speck would like cow. Can Speck have cow?" The gray asked, joining in on the 'asking' session.

Slowly, the Inspector sighed to himself. It was going to be one _long_ ride ... at least, for him.

He wondered if it was at all possible to fashion earplugs out of whatever he had in his pockets ...

"Cow!"

"_Bed_!!"

"Pillow!"

Howard winced at the half-roared demands. Though, the gray only seemed to be giggling out his request like some happy child. The other two were in a full-blown argument over whom should get their 'deserved luxuries' first. No amount of pocket lint or fabric in the world could block out such noise when it was being yelled right next to them.

He groaned to himself and he could have sworn Walker looked sympathetically over his shoulder for a moment, before the argument really got into full swing--

**//DRDRDR//**

Brother was in bed. That was good.

Sister was is bed. That was good.

Most everyone was sleeping or snoring at not-usual-sleep places. That was good too.

Gremlin liked them all of the people that slept in the rooms on the ground floor and up. None of them were mean. Well, All of them except for the Mean-lady. She was ... Mean.

AND Gremlin was sure the woman was after his shinys. She had been prowling around Brother's sleep-room before, but had left before Gremlin had jumped from his hiding-spot beneath Brother's bed to chase her out.

He didn't like her very much. She didn't let him see Brother whenever he wanted too, and she also called him names. 'Beast, animal, pet' ... Gremlin normally didn't mind being called stuff like that, but the Mean-lady said it in such a way that really made him mad at her.

Like she really though Gremlin was a 'beast,' or nothing more than a 'pet.'

The green ghosted through the empty halls, silent and watchful. He was going to explore scary places below ground level tonight, and he didn't want anyone to see him. Only Mean people were below ground level. Gremlin wanted to see if there really were dungeons and rotting bodies down below, in the dark ...

He kept his fears to himself. Brother really shouldn't be bothered with fears unless Gremlin found out beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were true, but the dragon didn't have any proof yet. Hopefully, he would find some tonight, so that all the Mean people would be thrown out, and he could have the whole castle for just the people he liked.

Well ... at least he knew Mean lady couldn't go steal his shinys while he was away, or bother Brother. She was to busy wondering how to fix the hole in her sleep-rooms ceiling that Gremlin had put there when Sister had come home ...

Laughing evilly, Gremlin explored, hoping (and not-hoping) to find something dark and disturbing ...

**END 16.**

**AN:** Yeah ... short chapter. Sorry ... I just got a new game called Spore, and I can't keep my paws off it. And I have several school duties as well, along with house chores.

At least the chapters are becoming easier to write ...

Thank-you all for reviewing and everything! (Though I know that you all read this only because It's one of the non 'yaoi' fics out there ...)

Aw heck, I just love writing about dragons! See you all next time, with a new character!

Beta: (sigh) Another one?

Knux33: Yes, another one.

Beta: More Krory?

K: ... maybe.

B: XD


	17. Seeing Blue

**Title**: Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, THERE WOULD BE DRAGONS.

**17. Seeing Blue**

Heart pounding. Breath gasping. Wings flapping.

_Getaway-getaway-getaway!_

Desperate, desperate, desperate. Get away before they catch you again!

Black/white/gray eyes wide, body shaking, he hid himself against a wall, blue scales _blend_ing.

Would they see him, catch him, cut him?

No, no ... Heart calming, breath easing, they passed him, and ran on, searching.

Wings trembling, tired. Couldn't fly, or they would see. He had to use what energy he had to _blend_ into the wall.

He had to find his Chosen and protect him. Protect him from these monsters. The blue knew he was here, here at last. Finally, he could know what the Master wanted after waiting so long, after being cut for so long ...

Keeping himself calm, the dragon crept away, unseen.

**//DRDRDR//**

Gremlin flew away from the lower levels as fast as his wings could take him. Something had stirred up the Mean-people below like a bug-nest, and Gremlin didn't want to get caught, and get Brother in trouble.

He would just have to wait for another night to investigate ...

Landing quietly by Brother's sleep-room door, Gremlin slowly eased the door open.

The inside was dark, and the dragon knew Brother was still sleeping. He crept inside, careful not to make a noise, and shut the door behind him with his tail. He walked with his belly touching the soft rug, creeping.

Brother didn't sleep enough, and Gremlin knew that Brother had been sleeping even less than normal because he had been worried about Sister and the Other People that had been away.

He didn't want to risk waking the scientist up, as unlikely as it was.

The green lizard wiggled in underneath the bed, and curled up there. As much as he would like to sleep with Brother, it would be easier to see if someone snuck into the room if he was on the floor, and listening to the ground.

And, it would be remarkably easier to bite off an intruders toes from this angle ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Link groaned quietly, wrestling off his boots and socks. He didn't know how Walker could stand being on that beast's back for so long without getting sore in the least ...

When the group had first arrived, the question "Who exactly was going to report what had happened, in the middle of the night?"came up. The Junior Bookman had volunteered himself and marched off quite cheerfully, looking for someone to asked directions from.

Miranda had remained like some awkward, shy shadow while Allen and Howard went looking for rooms to sleep in that weren't occupied. Of course, that had been when Inspector Levier had appeared from around a corner, with a smile and two guards accompanying him.  
**  
**The guards had shown Miranda and Allen to the hallway where all of the exorcists were getting rooms, while Levier had taken Howard for a 'private' walk around the new Headquarters to 'acquaint' him with the layout of the building.

And quietly rebuked him after Link had given him a full and detailed report.

"It really is a shame," The lead Inspector had said. "We really could have used those children you know."

Howard had known better than to ask what those brats could have been used _for_, specifically, and kept his mouth shut.

And, after being properly scolded, he was now in his new room, that 'happened' to be right next to Walker's room, even though Howard wasn't an exorcist.

Howard fell onto his bed, extremely grateful for the fact that he was _here_, and that he had already gotten the dressing-down he had been expecting from Levier for his incompetence.

Walker was relatively 'free' to move about as he wanted within the boundary of the Headquarters, so Howard was 'free' from having to follow the teen around at all hours. Though, Link highly suspected that he would have to 'observe' Walker on any and all missions he went on in the future.

Link felt a strange sort of contentment at being able to sleep on a bed without his back bothering him. And being able to have a small amount of privacy within his own four walls. The Inspector closed his eyes, not really caring that he was still fully dressed (minus the boots and socks).

That bliss lasted for at least fifteen seconds before something poked his toe.

With a practiced reaction, Link had his weapons out and ready and had leaped off of the bed before he realized the 'intruder' was nothing more than a blue lizard with wings.

The creature was watching him curiously, a small skull in its mouth giving it the appearance of a dog with a ball, and stared at him.

Howard glared at it, silently willing the beast to speak up and ask what it wanted all ready as he slid the blades back into their proper places.

The beast carefully placed the skull into to bed, and looked at Link with it's dragons eyes, mute.

"Well?" The Inspector asked. "What do you want?" He had had it up to his collar bone with these pests, and really wasn't in the mood for games. He just wanted to go into his bed, pull up the covers, and go to sleep.

The creature nudged the skull in his direction, and stared at him again.

With an impatience born of exhaustion, emotional strain of just being reprimanded by his superior, and a great desire to just go to bed, Howard grabbed the surprisingly dry bone piece and flung it to the floor.

He was about to do the same to the lizard, but the dragon scrambled off after the bone with no further encouragement, and Link just jumped back onto his bed, pulling the cover around himself and turning his back to it.

He hoped the creature would get the idea and just _go away_.

A few moments later, something was nudging at his shoulders, and strange dry whining joining the pushing. With a resined sigh, Howard sat up and faced the blue dragon.

It had the skull in its jaws again, and was grinning at him with the most exuberant expression on its face.

Brows furrowed, Link stared at it.

The dragon slowly, almost as if being careful not to scare him, nudged the young man's hand with its nose, and as it pulled away, it left the skull there, half-clasped within Howard's loose grip.

Link looked at the partially-chewed small-animal skull in his hand, thinking. The dragonling sat at his feet and waited for a reaction. Howard wasn't sure what the beast wanted, and didn't really want to put forth the effort into figuring it out, so tossed the bone away again, before settling back down into his bed.

Quicker than he could fall asleep, it was back and nudging at his foot again. Cracking open a reluctant eye, Howard glared at the beast yet again, only to open both eyes in confusion. The blue lizard had placed the bone at his feet, and sat there, looking at the blond with an excited look, reptilian body wiggling far too much like a puppy's for Howard to mistake its actions for anything else.

Slowly, in disbelief, Link pulled himself upright again, and repeated the movement of tossing the skull, only farther this time.

The dragon leaped after it, gliding to where the bone had rolled, grabbing the toy, and flapped back to Howard, dropping the bone at his feet yet again.

"Fetch?" Link said in exasperation. "You're in here because you want to play _fetch_?"

The blue dragon didn't say a word (it hadn't said one since it had started bothering him), but it wiggled a little, obviously wanting the 'toy' to be thrown again.

Sighing, Howard threw the bone as hard as he could without hitting a wall, and the small lizard pursued the object with joy, again returning to have the skull thrown again.

"I can't do this all night." Link informed the creature as it offered the bone to him yet again. "I'm tired enough as it is, and I'll probably have some work of some sort to do  
tomorrow."

The dragon looked at him thoughtfully with strange black/white eyes, and seemed to look a little sad, but stopped 'asking' for the toy to be thrown.

Link gave the skull back, and the silent blue took the bone back with its hand-like paws, and curled up at the foot of the Inspectors bed to chew on it quietly. Howard laid down for sleep yet again, but this time succeeded in loosing consciousness as the creature stayed silent, the only noise it made being the erratic '_cracks_' of bone splintering into the night.  
**  
//DRDRDR//**  
**_  
_**_Like_. I like my chosen. He still hasn't told me want he _wants_, but he is fine otherwise. My chosen is healthy, smart, and was quick when I surprised him. That is good.

But one thing is bad. He was talking and listening to one of the monsters. The King monster, that tells the other monsters what to do. Is my chosen on of the monsters? If he was a monster, why didn't he cut me up like the other ones?

But he played with me. Not even once trying to capture me, like the others probably would.

But ... if my chosen _wants_ me to be cut up, then I'll have to let them cut me up.

Because I only want him to be happy. I don't know what I'll have to do to make him happy, but I'll do it.

For now, I don't know what he Wants, so I'll just keep on coming every night until he tells me.

I like bones. They are fun to play with and you can eat them when you're done playing. I wonder if my chosen likes bones? Or meat? I'll have to observe him to see what he likes.

Maybe, when I know what he likes, I'll be able to figure out what he Wants.

Good plan. I'll do tomorrow. And the day after if it takes longer.

But, I'll _blend_, so the other monsters won't catch me while I'm with my chosen.

Yes, yes ... good plan.

But, for now, sleeping here with my chosen is best. The best.

Good. Happy. Content.  
_  
Tired? _Sleep.  
**  
//DRDRDR//**  
**  
**In the morning the beast was gone; not even a fragment of bone was left to prove the blue lizard had been more than a dream. Howard got ready for the day without any further thought to his visitor in the night, as he had more important things to do today.

Well ... in truth, Howard didn't know what he was doing today. Inspector Levier hadn't told him anything involving his current duties. He knew Walker would probably get up and then eat, and the other exorcists would begin going out on missions.

But, as to what he himself was going to do, he hadn't the faintest clue.

So, getting up and looking into the drawers of his dresser, he wasn't very surprised to find it fully stocked with clothing specific to him, and a few familiar uniforms.

The stuff had gotten here before before him after all. That just proved how well 'planned' the move had been.

Vaguely, Howard pondered how they had 'moved' Hevlaska, as she had seemed to be an immense creature when he had seen her. It would have been interesting, to see how they had gone about transporting her ...

Once fully clothed and aware, he left his room to go explore a bit more. All he had seen was the first floor, and he wanted to get a better internal map of the area.

He wandered at will, going up and down random stairways and turning down halls if they looked interesting. Soon, his basic understanding of the new Headquarters had greatly increased, and he felt confident enough to search out the room with the hole in it's ceiling that lead to the roof where the dragon were lounging about.

He decided to search out the creature that had visited him last night and demand an explanation for its uninvited presence, as he had nothing better to do.

But, getting there, he found not only the hole, but the very disgruntled occupant of the room.

Ms. Bridgett Fay.

He recognized her face from Central, but wasn't very familiar with her.

She seemed to be ... very angry at the moment. Maybe it had something to do with the hole in her ceiling.

"Excuse me, Ms. Fay?" Howard was trying to be polite, so the woman wouldn't turn her pent-up aggression on him. "May I come in so I may ... go up?"

"Oh, certainly!" The woman was clearly thinking of how to skin the green-scaled culprit, and didn't really care about who did what with the hole as long as they didn't mess up her room. "You can use the ladder to get up. Please try not to get anything on my rug."

Howard eased his way passed her, and went up the ladder as fast as he could go. When he reached the top, two faces turned towards him eagerly, only to be disappointed when he wasn't who they were waiting for.

Only two dragons were currently lounging on the roof, and Link was disappointed to see that neither of them were the blue that was in his room last night.

Smudge, the only one in the whole group that Link believed to be truly civilized, greeted him politely, before turning back to Speck, apparently trying to have a conversation in how to speak properly.

"Now," Smudge said. "What is his name?"

"NotSoNice." Speck answered, looking very sure with himself.

"No." Smudge corrected the gray. "This human's name is Mr. Link."

Speck looked confused. "Mm-stir-link?"

"Mis-ter Link." The black said

"Stir-ink." The gray tried.

"_Mis_-ter Link." Smudge emphasized.

"Mis-ter ink." Speck ... 'ink'-ed.

"Link." Smudge told him.

"Ink."

"_Link_."

"Ink."

Smudge sighed. Howard tried not to be angry at the gray, but it was proving difficult after going from 'NotSoNice' to 'Ink.'

"Where are the rest?" The young man asked, glad that his irritation didn't show in his voice.

"Eating." Smudge informed him. "Ammy wanted to try fishing for some fresh fish, and Sunny wanted to watch."

"What about the green one?" Howard had known that a small dragon being up here was probably a long shot in the wrong direction, but had wanted to try the roof area first anyway. And, if one small blue was somewhere, maybe it was with the other small beast ...

"Gremlin? He has not been here since I arrived. He is probably with Mr. Komui or Ms. Lenalee."

"Thank-you." Link gave the dragon a nod of thanks, and went back down the hole. The black really _was_ the most cultured out of the entire brood.

Bridgett was gone when he got down, so he simply let himself out and went on his way. Now, where had Inspector Levier said the main Science Section was ... ?

Wandering a bit more where he hadn't before, Howard was very surprised to find a familiar (if hungry) face.

"Mr. Walker?" He greeted, not sure what the exorcist would be doing on the floor that the scientists had _their_ rooms on.

"Oh, hi Link ..." The white-haired boy was looking around with an air of distracted hunger. "You wouldn't happen to know where the Cafeteria is, would you?"

Ah ... that explained it. Howard _had _heard that Allen had a tendency to get lost ...

With a resigned sigh, he lead the hungry parasitic exorcist to the designated spot. Quite a few people looked up at their entrance, a majority of them exorcists.

Howard left Allen to the Junior Bookman, who took the boy by the shoulder, jokingly asking if the boy's lateness to Breakfast was because he had gotten lost again.

Link escaped before he could be dragged into the conversation, and didn't hear how Allen answered. But, quickly making for a mostly-deserted hallway, felt uneasy.

He scanned the area, but didn't see anyone, though he could have sworn he felt someone watching ...

"Hi-ya!" A green blur greeted him, whizzing by. "What-cha doing Goldy-hair--?" The dragon would have finished that particular sentence, (Or nickname), but seemed to collide  
with something in mid-air.

Link, who had been looking directly at the green lizard, was astonished. The dragon had _literally_ hit 'nothing' head-on, and was now _tangled _in 'nothing' on the floor. Then, the 'nothing' turned blue.

"Watch where you're going!" Gremlin screeched, trying to dis-tangle himself from the blue that had accidentally collided with him.

The blue was working just as hard to get loose, head swinging around, as if to make sure no one saw him. When the two were finally free from each other, they both glared with equal anger at one another.

"What were you doing, being 'not-there' like that!?" Gremlin demanded. "You could of smash-ed my head open!"

The blue glared silently, though it looked just as angry, tossing its horned head with anger, giving out a low hiss like a tea kettle.

"How ...?" Howard was still trying to get over the blue's 'appear/disappear' act.

Gremlin gave one last look at the blue, then took off and went on his way, apparently having something more important to do that argue with mute blues. The blue dragon shook a clawed fist at Gremlin's retreating back, before calming himself down enough to realize Link was staring at him.

It got an 'uh-oh' look on its face, before _blend_ing into the landscape around it, effectively disappearing.

"Wait!" Howard said, quickly.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the dragon un_blend_ed, and looked at the inspector curiously.

"How did you do that?" Howard demanded, wondering why no one had told him about such a creature before.

The beast shrugged, and held out a paw. The paw _blend_ed. Then, un_blend_ed.

Howard was amazed. "Can you do anything else?"

The creature nodded enthusiastically, quickly changing its color from blue to green to red to orange to black to blue again.

It turned its tail green, then one leg purple.

One wing stretched out to form a picture of Link walking, then Link talking to Bridgett, then Smudge. Lastly, it showed Howard with Allen, and then an angry Gremlin.

Then, the pictures stopped, and the dragon turned back to it's uniform blue color, looking at Howard, as if hoping the human was pleased.

Howard was amazed. Apparently, the creature could use its body like a screen, giving out any color it chose. It could blend in with its surroundings, change to any color on the spectrum, and use its ability with colors to make pictures.

Link then realized that the thing had probably been following him the entire morning, to get such images. And he hadn't even noticed (he, a trained professional) until now. He probably wouldn't have even known unless Gremlin had slammed into it.

This thing ... had possibilities.

"What's your name?" Link asked it, only then looking at it in the eye.

The blue stared at him.

"Well?"

It shrugged.

"No name?"

It nodded.

"Then, who do you belong to?" Howard thought it might belong to one of the scientists or Finders. Maybe even one of the exorcists. But the dragon just climbed onto his shoulder, and firmly placed itself on _him_.

"So, where's your owner?" Howard thought his mouth was surprisingly dry. It was a small beast, compared to Smudge.

The claws tightened on his shoulder for a moment, then loosened. It looked him in the eye.

"... me?" Howard didn't get it. What could the beast possibly want with _him_?

But, against all odds (in Link's mind anyway) the creature nodded, flashing a toothy grin.

Howard stared at the blue. His first thought about it was: _This beast couldn't possibly be more annoying that Speck._

The second thought, surprisingly, was: _What the hell do I name it?_

Link stared at it. It stared back, before nuzzling his cheek affectionately. He didn't have any idea on how to name a _dog_, let alone a _dragon_.

"Well," Howard decided to ask it. "Any ideas on what to name yourself?"

The blue shrugged.

Link as a bit exasperated at its silence. "Can't you say _anything_?"

The blue seemed to think, before opening its mouth experimentally. A few '_arghhhh_' and '_awww_' sounds came, but nothing articulate. Looking into the beasts open mouth, Link suddenly knew why.

To his own private horror, the dragon's tongue had been cut out. Expertly. And the wound had been charred to keep it from bleeding, leaving a painful-looking stump at the back of the dragons throat. But, of course, none of this shown on Link's face.

The blue gave up on talking, and sighed. The air whistled through its jaws in a particular manner, making a '_fweeep_' sound. Partially like a bird's trill.

The dragon looked surprised. It tried again, and again, and again.

If the missing tongue had shocked him, the ability to whistle was just as surprising.

Link hadn't thought that dragon had any lips to whistle _with_.

'_Fweep_,' The dragon blew at him, then smiled.

Link didn't really know how to translate a whistle into a name, so gave up on the venture, deciding to go to the Supervisor's office and ask the lunatic in charge _when_ this thing had  
hatched.

AND why it liked _him_ for some particular reason.

The blue was happy enough sitting on Links shoulder, but when they got to a hallway with actual _people_ in it, Link was surprised to find his shoulder holding empty air. _Heavy_, empty air.

At least the creature didn't actually disappear ... Howard wasn't sure he could handle things actually disappearing at will ...

But, upon arriving at the Science department right next to the Supervisor's Office ...

"Get down here." Ms. Fay commanded, with an air of a disgruntled commander. "Now."

"_No_." Link heard something squawk from the top of a shelf of files, green nose barely visible.

"I warned you--" Bridgett was looking only a little angry, though Link knew that if even a small amount of emotion was showing, the creature had truly pushed the woman to her limits. "--about melting doors. _Then_ you went and melted my ceiling--"

"I did that _before_!" Gremlin argued, sticking his head out. "_Before_ Gremlin melt-ed Brother's door!"

The woman glared at the lizard. "It doesn't matter. You have caused a hundred dollars worth of damage, if not a great amount more. Now _come down_."

"_Make. Me._"

Howard watched with interest, with a large amount of the Science Departments working staff. How _would_ the woman force an acid-spitting dragon to do something it didn't want too? Especially when that something was forcing it into a steel-like cage she had next to her feet on the floor.

Link watched Reever leave the room quietly, probably going to get the Supervisor before things progressed any farther.

The woman narrowed her eyes, and Link saw her absentmindedly fiddle with a button on her jacket. Only, he knew it probably wasn't a button. It was something to call in some 'muscle,' most likely, or what would force the dragon down.

Half-forgotten claws tightened on his shoulder, warning him a second before two people ghosted into the room, faces covered in masks and bodies hidden beneath black robes.

Howard knew those two, and what they were, though he doubted the Science Department did.

Crow agents ... people that were specialized from a young age to be both sorcerers and assassins. And inspectors. Anything that Central would require them to be.

A special agent he himself was.

And two of them had been called to get a misbehaving _dragon_?

This had obviously been planned, and far in advance. And for reasons beyond a few broken walls.

The unseen blue dragon on his shoulder was shaking. He guessed that whatever was about to happen to Gremlin, had already happened to him.

But, what bothered and befuddled the inspector the most, was why hadn't _he_ been informed about this?

"I'm going to give you to the count of three." Bridgett was saying. "If you don't come down, I'm going to _make_ you. One."

The dragon had retreated closer to the wall, and the height of the file shelf hid the green completely from view. "Not coming." The dragon called down in a conversational squeak.

"Two."

The Crow agents moved closer to the shelf, getting ready to apprehend the lizard. Secretly, Link thought that moving closer was a stupid plan; they wouldn't be able to see Gremlin if they moved closer, and he could surprise them in virtually anyway when they couldn't see him.

Like by spitting acid into their faces ... Surprisingly, Link didn't care much for the other members of Crow.

But, then again, they didn't know each other very well. Really, they didn't know each other at all, but that small fact wasn't supposed to matter much when on assignment. Or at all.

It wasn't like the 'tools' were supposed to have _feelings_ after all ... they were raised to be whatever their superiors in Central wanted them to be.

"One."

"_What is going on?_" Howard slowly let his eyes turn towards the Supervisors voice, head not moving. The invisible dragon on his shoulder seemed the shake a little less than  
before. "I demand an explanation for this, Ms. Fay."

Looking at the curly-haired man wearing a beret, Howard didn't really see how this man was going to enforce his command, when he saw the look on the man's face.

Link rarely saw the Supervisor with a 'serious' look on his face, but the man was wearing one now. And, quite frankly, it was scary.

"Brother!" The king-of-the-file-shelf cried, flinging himself down and into one of the Supervisor's coat pockets. And, in there, the dragon disappeared, and remained remarkably  
silent.

"That beast has been destroying property at an alarming rate." Bridgett informed him, as if he hadn't just stolen her prey from right out of her jaws. "I was just going to detain it, like I said I would."

"Ms. Fay, I think that this level of ... _detainment_, is a little extreme for a small, green lizard with wings."

"Oh, really?" The woman crossed her arms. "I think this level of security is simply the bare minimum for a piece of innocence gone wild."

Murmurs broke out in the groups of scientists. The two Crow agents stood relatively 'at-ease' where they were, waiting. Howard was sure this was a power game he didn't want to be a part of, but he couldn't move and draw attention to himself _now_. It was best to simply wait it out.

Komui's stare was cold. "Wild, Ms. Fay? What makes you think that?"

"The creature obviously doesn't listen to anyone but itself." The woman pointed out. "And it has cause substantial damage already. Just how long could it possibly be until the beast  
... attacks someone?" Her tone was innocently concerned with the wellbeing of everyone. Her purpose was anything but.

"_Gremlin_," Komui emphasized on the dragon's name, as if to point out the humanity it had. "Would not attack anyone. Unless, of course, you were going to hurt him first?"

"And if one of the bigger beasts decided to act just as destructive as this one?" Bridget accused, disregarding the man's question.

"And if you provoked a piece of innocence into Falling!?" Komui demanded, voice rising and disregarding the woman's question just as she disregarded his.

The woman's glare was steely. "That only happens when someone betrays our cause."

Komui's look was just as cold. "Exactly."

Link wished he had never decided to get out of bed this morning, feeling his own dragon's claws tightening in warning yet again.

"_Supervisor_!" A Finder came into the room running, shattering the tense atmosphere and creating a new one as he babbled out something about some town being destroyed.

"Slow down!" Reever tried to calm the man. "What's happening?"

"A-a city Sir," The Finder stuttered, clearly shaken. "J-just South of u-us--" The young man took a deep breath. "--It's being destroyed!"

"What's happening?" Reever demanded yet again.

"The call we got from the local Finder squad was that it was big, red ..." The young man hesitated. "And had wings."  
**  
END 17. Seeing Blue**  
**  
AN: **Muhaha (Cough), so, is the attacking thing Dragon/innocence, akuma, or Noah? You'll find out ... eventually.

Sorry of the chapter was a bit scatterbrained ... I am a scatterbrained person after all. And encase you didn't guess it, the 'one-perspective' points were from the Blue dragon.

Ah ... still don't know what I'm going to name that little blue, but I am leaning towards one name in particular ... No, I'm not going to tell you what it is. That would be spoiler, my friends.

Review, please. That is all I ask for.  
**  
-**knux**33**


	18. Meeting Red

**Title**: Dragon's Lies

**Author**: Knux33

**Disclaimer**: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, THERE WOULD BE DRAGONS.

**18. Meeting Red**

"I still do not understand why they did not allow Mr. Allen to come with us." Smudge said, great wings sailing on air, Kanda on his back. "And Speck would not come without Mr. Allen, and Sunny and Ammy were away. _And _no other person could come either, not even Ms. Lenalee, even though she can keep up with me. But, they still wanted us to go one ahead, alone. It seems a very unreasonable thing to do."

"_Reasoning_, has nothing to do with it," Kanda grumbled, annoyed. "The people in command are just idiots."

"What about Mr. Komui?" The black asked, going a little faster, anxious to be at their destination quickly.

"Like I said," Kanda repeated himself, checking to make sure Mugen was clear of its sheath. "Idiots."

On the not-so-distant horizon, there was smoke. Already, Smudge could see the rubble that had once been a place where humans had dwelled. And, something big swooping down upon the town, destroying as many builds as it could with its body alone.

Smudge frowned. It was big, red, had wings, and (so far) looked suspiciously dragonish.

Well, it did make sense. From his outlook, Smudge could also see that one of the screaming pedestrians it had in it's claw was an akuma. Then, the red bit off the human/akuma's upper half, causing quite a lot of screaming from the other humans watching as red, oily blood spurted from the remaining half.

Smudge, even knowing that the red dragon was after akuma, narrowed his eyes at the excessive use of force and show of blood. The red idiot was _trying _to look gruesome!

"Kanda ..." Smudge said, narrowing in for a dive. "I am going to knock some sense into him. You may want to get off before impact."

The samurai didn't answer, he just started undoing straps and getting ready to jump onto the first availably roof when the ground was close enough.

The black glided in close, and Kanda got off.

Without so much as a warning roar, Smudge slammed into the slightly-smaller red, smashing the other dragon into the ground with a dull '_thud_.'

Before the red could recover, Smudge had him pinned. "What do you think you are doing?" The black demanded.

The red struggled under the larger beast, wings and limbs impeded, tail thrashing. It snarled at him in answer.

"I said--" Smudge placed his claws at the base of the others neck in a silent warning. "--What do you think you are _doing_?!"

The other dragon stilled, breathing heavily. "Killing." It answered, voice like gravel.

"_Why_?"

"Because." The red grinned. "I'm supposed to."

"And why are you destroying all of these buildings?" Smudge demanded, ignoring the people creeping out from wherever they had been hiding, gapping at him.

"Because," The red grumbled, voice deeper in pitch than Smudge's. "They were in the way."

Smudge held the red down, not removing his claws. Smudge knew that people usually didn't like seeing other people eaten, and so said: "What of your Chosen? Surly he is disappointed in your actions!"

The red laughed; an erratic, crazy sound. "Who are you to say that, Black?"

Smudge narrowed his eyes, and searched for Kanda. The samurai had disappeared onto a rooftop somewhere out of the dragon's range of sight.

But there was something else he could see. _Several_ somethings he could see.

"I think you'd best get off me now." The red chuckled. "Otherwise, we may both be cut to pieces soon, and not by claws either."

"I'll let you up, _if _you are more careful about what you squash." There was a very messy non-akuma pile of fleshy goop to emphasize this statement.

"Fine, fine," The red rumbled eagerly. "Now let me up!"

Grudgingly, watching the red at all times, Smudge let the beast up.

It leaped with all speed at the nearest akuma (all of witch were not transforming or attacking, strangely) and tore it to pieces with a happy abandon.

Smudge, not one to like akuma himself, still bared his fangs in disgust at the violent red. But one thing bothered him more than his 'brothers' behavior.

Why weren't the akuma fighting back?

**//DRDRDR//**

Yuu Kanda, on the other hand, was just as disgusted, if not just as confused.

He, after landing on a nearby roof, had watched Smudge tackle the red to the ground, and had been going to see if the dragon would need any help in 'capturing' the innocence, when he had come across something quite ... strange.

"_Oooooohhhhh_!"

In mid stride, the sound made Kanda stumble. It sounded like something between a dog howling and a cat being drowned. Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant sound, or something easily ignored.

And it was coming from the roof Kanda had been about to jump to.

"_OoooOOOooohhh_ ..."

Now, the dying cat was trying to _sing_, it seemed.

Only because the dying animal was in his way, did Kanda go forward. A few moments later and he wished he hadn't.

"_Oooh_ Laaaarg ..." A man moaned, gripping his hands together so hard the exorcist was surprised the skinny man hadn't broken his own skeletal fingers. "It _gooOot_ LaaAAaarg ..."

It was quite apparent that this man was not right in the head. Kanda, wanting to ignore the crazy person, was just about to go on his way when he was ... noticed.

The Crazy blinked owlishly at him with red-rimed eyes, mouth half-opened. Like a fish. "Y-yooouu ..." He rasped, not quite as loud as before. "_You_ brought the—that—it—_thing_ that g-got L-Larg ..." Apparently, talking wasn't the owl-man's strong suit.

The samurai tried ignoring the man, and vaulted over to the next roof.

The Crazy stared and howled after him. "My Laaarg! Mymymymy--" A deep breath. "_LAAAARRRG_!"

A roar answered the cry; a deep below that seemed to make the ground vibrate.

Kanda, both hands swung outward for balance, looked at the Crazy in disbelief.

"S-see?" Owl-eyes giggled madly. "My L-Larg."

It didn't take much to put two and two together. Or, a violent red and Crazy person, anyway.

**//DRDRDR//**

Komui fiddled with some papers, pretending to read them. Lenalee stood in front of his desk, glaring at her brother. Gremlin sat on his bookshelf, whining.

No one else was in the room.

"Brother ..." It was Lenalee that began this statement, voice full of disapproval.

Shuffling his papers, he pretended not to hear.

"_Komui_!"

The named man flinched, finally dropping the documents like he was lowering his one and only shield.

Regardless of her anger, she looked like she was more likely to cry at the moment than hit him. "Why did you send Kanda to the city _alone_?"

The older brother gulped, and trying to hide behind his papers again.

Lenalee grabbed the darn things and forced her brother to put them down. "_Why_?" It was both a demanding and pleading statement at the same time.

Slowly, Komui sighed. "I don't have enough information about what's happening." He told her quietly. "We've lost contact with the Finders in the city, and I don't have the authority to send out more than two exorcists on nothing more than a vague distress call."

"But you only sent Kanda--"

"_With Smudge_." The Supervisor interrupted her before she could say anymore. "And Central counts that as two."

For a second, his sister stood there, a confused and pained look on her face.

Komui wanted to stand up and hug her, and tell her that everything would be alright, that it was all alright, but he couldn't. She wasn't a little girl anymore, and hadn't been one for a long time now. And he couldn't just be her 'big brother' anymore, no matter how much he wanted to be.

If, for even an instant, any of the higher ups thought that he considered the people fighting in the war more important that winning the war itself ...

_Than I wouldn't be able to protect then anymore. As little as my contribution is, it's better than nothing._ At least, that's what he tried to tell himself. It was very hard to keep that in mind when it looked like his little sister was going to break out in tears at any moment.

"What ... _do_ you know?" She said,trying to keep her voice steady.

Komui tried not to sigh again. "All that the Finders were able to send us was that something was attacking the city and that it was big, red, winged, and was plucking people off of the streets and crushing them as it rammed through buildings."

Lenalee froze, obviously try not to think about the overall amount of damage and death that was alone.

"And then we lost contact with the base, and the Finder manning that particular call told me as soon as possible, and we sent out Kanda."

"And Smudge." Gremlin reminded him quietly, keeping to his shelf.

"And Smudge." Komui agreed, not looking at his sister in the eye.

She stood there a moment longer, but when it became apparent that Komui wasn't going to tell her anything more, she left.

The door closed softly behind her, and only after Lenalee was gone did Komui let out the breath he didn't realize he had been holding and placed his head in his hands, at a loss.

He tried and he tried, but people still died.

No matter what he did ...

No matter how hard he pushed himself or his staff ...

Komui watched the desk beneath his eyes blur, and took off his glasses. Now everything was blurry, and he could blame it on something other than his tears.

Something warm wrapped around his shoulders, crooning. Gremlin was trying to comfort him, gibbering on in nonsense words. Half of the words weren't even in a human language, Komui realized in a vague way, head drooping and liquid leaking from his nose and eyes like his head was some sort of fruit being squeezed.

"_Graauh, Kshama-gaal_," The green was rumbling in his little throat, like he was saying something for Komui's ears only. "_Shi-lee_."**(1)**

The small angular head rubbed his wet cheek. There was another croon, and a repetition of, "_Shi-lee_." and they sat there, together.

Such a large family he had. And he had to watch them die. A list of names came into his thoughts, and Komui silently mouthed out the names.

"Yuu Kanda. Bookman Senior. 'Lavi' Bookman."

Gremlin hummed with him as he did it. Silently, he counted those he hadn't lost yet.

"Lenalee Lee. Allen Walker. Reever Wenhamm."

He tried to concentrate on the fact that it was a long list, not on the fact that the list of the dead was longer.

"Johnny Gill. Miranda Lotto. Arystar Krory."

It became easier to think as the tears stopped. He continued naming people both well-known and the shy ones that were almost unknown.

"Jerry. Hevlaska. Marie."

It was easier now. He could breath and his nose had stopped running. He finished naming those he knew best, named the rest of the exorcists, and began on the Finders.

Then the Scientists.

Then the rest of the cooking staff and cleaning staff.

With a smile and one last sniff, he put his glasses back on and the world clarified. But, he wasn't done yet.

"Smudge, Ammy, Sunny, Speck." He gave a smile to the creature currently on his shoulder. "Gremlin."

"Don't forget it, Brother!" The green chirped. "Gremlin _here_."

Komui sighed. "After what Bridgett tried to pull today, I hope so."

"Brother will figure out something." The dragon said in full confidence, licking Komui's salty cheeks. "Brother not a stupid red."

The Supervisor stared at the lizard, startled. "Red what?"

"_Dragons_, silly." Gremlin said as a-matter-of-fact. "Reds are brutes. They like red."

Gremlin snorted, as if insulted to be related to such a sub-species. "They kill what they have to, then what they want. And make others angry too."

"Why didn't you say so before?!" Komui demanded, jumping up and running to get Kanda's golem on the line _now_.

"Gremlin was _hiding_!" The green squawked, hanging on tight to the man's shoulder as he ran past the secretary at his door and beyond. "And _everyone_ know about reds!"

"_We don't_!"

**//DRDRDR//**

Smudge didn't like this dragon. Not one bit. And that was saying something, if _Smudge_ didn't like him.

The red was laughing was he picked up another in-disguise akuma and flicked the screaming creature into his mouth, closing his jaws with a '_snap_' and a wet sounding '_crunch_.'

The people were panicking because (to them) the red beast was grabbing and eating people at random from the crowd.

And the red just kept on eating the akuma that seemed to wander ever-so-helpfully towards him without a care in the world.

Smudge was putting an end to it.

"That is enough." The back said, uneasy about how easily the akuma were being caught. "We should go find my Kanda now and go home."

"Home?" The red asked, a person/akuma hanging precariously from his claws, before he dropped it.

It was still screaming after it hit the ground with a '_thud_' and a dull '_snap_,' so the red stepped on it.

"Home is nowhere. I live with no cavern to house me. I live with only my scales and my Chosen."

Smudge cocked his head. "Who is your Chosen?"

The red grinned, jaws just as red as his scales because of the gore. "The crazy-one on the roof."

Smudge was confused, but turned his head at the sound of a wild yelling and was surprised to see Kanda holding another person by the scruff of the shirt.

"Laaaarg!" The Crazy yelled. "_OoohhhOOoohh_MymyLaaaarg!"

Kanda seemed to be disgusted with the thing he was holding onto and annoyed. Smudge quickly grabbed the brown-haired and slightly-smelly human from the roof with his own claws and held him far away from the samurai, just in case Kanda wanted to cut him up.

"Yooou ..." The man in ragged clothes stated. "Y-_you_ g-got Laaarg ..." Smudge pitied the small mostly-adult human. It seemed to have even more trouble with speech than Speck and Gremlin combined.

"Yes, I did." Smudge said with a nod. "So, now you will both come with us, because you are causing an _awful_ amount of trouble here."

The man shook his head back and fourth, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that his feet were dangling at least a story off of the ground. "G-got to eaaat mOnsters. LaaAAarg eeAt m-monsters."

Smudge nodded seriously to the man, ignoring Kanda's irritated look and the red, 'Larg,' as the other dragon looked on with interest. "Yes, yes, I like to eat monsters too, but not when they look like people." The black pointed out slowly. "That usually puts off my apatite."

The Crazy looked at Larg with his blood-covered jaws, and slowly nodded. "Oooh ... oh."

"So, I think it would be a good idea just to go home for now, and get something nicer to eat." Smudge finished with a confident nod.

"L-liike ... paaan-caaAakes?"

Smudge cocked his head. "I have never had ... pan-cakes before, but I am sure the cooks would be happy to make some for you."

The man began babbling in earnest now, like an excited toddler. Larg looked at the remaining akuma with a disappointed snort, but didn't object. The red even remained silent when Kanda told Smudge to keep holding onto the Crazy for the flight back to HQ, as he didn't want to have the red fly away at the first opportunity, and he didn't trust the Crazy man's balance enough to put him in the saddle.

His golem '_beep_'-ed right before they took off, delaying the departure. He opened communication with a word, and informed the party on the other end of the line that he had 'captured' the innocence and was now on his way back.

"What state is the city in?"

Kanda did a quick scan of the area. "From what I see, it's partly been turned to rubble, and ..." He paused, looking at the blotches of red everywhere in sight. "... it's been painted red."

**//DRDRDR//**

"Tell me everything." Komui commanded, falling back into his office chair with a huff.

Ms. Fay was banging on his door, very ... irritable at being locked out after the Supervisor ran from one end of the Headquarters to the other, made a golem call, then ran back and shut the door in her face.

Gremlin was bobbed his head, and opened his mouth. "Reds like color red. Red everything. But fresh blood most. They like crazy things. Unstable things. They like power. And contests of power. They like anything ... 'chaotic'?" The green strained to get all of the words right and in the proper order, though the effort didn't seem as hard as it would have been a few scant weeks ago.

Had the dragon really learned so much in so little time?

Komui nodded at the word choice, really amazed at the creatures ability to learn despite himself.

Now, if he could only train out the dragons habit of stealing his metallic parts needed to make robots that were particularly ... shiny.

"Reds no-good. Best let red go do what it wants until it gets eaten by something bigger." The words had the ring of a proverbed repeated over several times by several different people, and Komui wondered just how the beast knew the uncanny things they did sometimes.

Komui smiled at the dragon. "I would take your advice, but Smudge is bringing it here."

The greens jaw dropped dramatically, eyes wide. "_Why_?"

"We have to collect _all_ of the pieces of innocence," The scientist told Gremlin. "Even the ones that are ... less that desirable."

Gremlin whined. "Even the red pieces?"

"Yep."

The lizard shook its head and flew to the top of the bookshelf, curling up to watch 'Brother' while he worked.

It was around then Bridget finally forced the door open, looked surprisingly calm and collected. The woman opened her mouth, obviously going to say something reprimanding, when Komui put one of his 'get-away' plans into action.

"Oh, Ms. Fay ..." He groaned, forehead pressed against his desk. "Hi ..."

She was startled for a moment, and Komui took advantage of her confusion to moan and clutch at his stomach, feigning pain.

She was quick to come over, asking (not demanding) what was wrong. Was there an actually tone of worry hidden in her polite questions about his health?

"Yes, yes ..." He groaned again, making sure not to overdo it. "No ..."

A note of disbelief crept into her voice as the woman remembered that he had just run from one end of the Headquarters and back again without any signs of stomach problems.

"I was ..." He moaned, moving into a more fetal position. "... going to the bathroom." He thought quickly, and hacked with a dry-sounding cough. "I was ... sick."

"You were in a _communications booth_, Supervisor." She was specking dryly now, as if she didn't believe a word.

Komui looked up with a practiced expression of confusion and fever-daze. "That wasn't a bathroom?" The Supervisor knew that his paleness and sweat from running would look very convincing right about now ...

Bridgett's eyes widened, and he knew he had got her. "I-I'll call a nurse--"

"No ..." Komui protested with feebleness, And made as if to stand up, but professionally failed while clutching at his gut with an extra flinch. "I ... I'll be fine ..."

He hacked again, purposefully pausing between certain coughs to make it sound as if he were about to retch, and fluxing his body in time with the sounds with amazing accuracy.

His act made Bridget turn green in sympathy. "No, no! Just sit here, I'm going to get a nurse." She ran, and as soon as she was out the door, Gremlin burst with uncontrollable laughter, loving Brother's genius trick.

"Come on," Komui called to the green. "We have to meet Kanda on the roof. I want to see the 'crazy' red and his ... chosen person."

Gremlin jumped into flight, and led the way to the roof with Komui following behind, calling cheerful greeting to the confused people he saw.

Sometimes, it payed very well to be both childish and inventive.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Flyyyyyiing ..." Smudge heard the person in his claws say to himself. "HiiIiigh and LooOOoow ..."

To bad Kanda could heard the man too. Smudge could almost feel the annoyance rolling off of his chosen in waves, getting bigger with each word the Confused man spoke/sang.

"L-Larg," The brown-haired owl-man called to the red fling slightly behind and below Smudge. "D-d-dooo ... yooOu liike pAaan-caaAaakes?"

"No." The red rumbled.

"O-oh ..." The Crazy went back to looked at the ground with a slightly dazed expression.

Smudge felt only pity for the poor Confused human that had the bad luck to be Chosen by a red, and hoped that one of the less ... annoyable exorcists would choose to be nice to him. Or, for just _someone_ to be nice to him.

If no human was, Smudge would try to be.

"Almost there." Smudge said to everyone in general. The Headquarters was not far from the city. For a dragon anyway.

"Theeere ... wheere ...?" The Confused man seemed ... confused.

"Home." Smudge answered, hoping that the term was something this human liked. Speck seemed to like the word, and this human had mental capabilities below the gray.

"HooOOoome ..." The man sang the word with almost-in-tune notes. "Wee're ... theEere."

It was sadly obvious that the human was mentally flawed, but Smudge knew that that just meant that the Confused one had to be taken care of.

And then, he was landing, and Speck was craning his neck curiously to see what Smudge had brought back, and the red was landing on the other end of the roof so that they could both land at the same time.

Mr. Komui was on the roof too, and Gremlin was just barely seen as a blotch of green on the Supervisor's shoulder.

As Kanda got down without assistance, climbing down Smudges side, the black carefully placed the Confused man on the ground, making sure the man had both of his feet properly under him before letting him stand without a claw for assistance.

Komui approached the man with owlish eyes carefully, but not with an overly obvious caution. "Hello," The Supervisor greeted, staying about two arms lengths away.

"H-h-hi." The man looked Komui up and down, before letting his gaze rest on the green dragon on the man's shoulder. "Not ... LaAarge ... s-smaAall ..."

"Yup," Gremlin chirped at him, looking the Crazy up and down himself.

"O-oh ..." The man blinked owlishly again, almost tiredly. "C-can ... I HaaAaave ... p-p-pan-c-c-akes?"

Komui nodded with one of his own childish smiles. "Yes, yes, I'm sure Jerry would love to whip up something for you!" The Supervisor grabbed the man by the shoulders and began steering him towards the way down to the inside of the building. "You can have eggs too, if you like Breakfast foods. And bacon, and ham and--"

The three disappeared down the ladder, and Speck gibbered at the red, asking what he had been _thinking_, trying to destroy a human-place like he had.

"I was killing things." The red snorted, beginning to clean his bloody jaws with his tongue.

Speck jabbered at the red more, and it was apparent that the gray was confused. "Killing what?" The smaller dragon demanded.

"Akuma," Smudge said for the red when it was pretty obvious Larg was ignoring Speck.

"Oh." Speck said. "You both ... 'well?'" The gray proceeded to look Smudge over for signs of hurts or wounds.

"They did not attack us." Smudge said, uneasiness returning. "They only acted ... human."

"Why?" Speck asked.

"I don't know."

"Who cares?" Larg spoke up. "As long as the things are destroyed beyond function, our duty is done."

"_But_," Smudge growled at the red-he-did-not-like. "You squashed _people_ along with the akuma."

"So?"

"So dead _people_ means more akuma!"

The red snorted. "All the more fun for me then." Larg chuckled then, in a way he just as crazy as the man asking for pancakes.

Speck was inching as far away from the red as he could, not liking the other dragon.

So the large roof suddenly seemed a bit overcrowded, even though there was room for at least ten beasts of Smudges size.

"I do not ... like." Speck whispered to Smudge, looking sad.

"I do not like Larg either." Smudge said. "But we must live with him."

Speck whined, but became quiet. "Why ... 'ugh'?"

"Because," Smudge explained, having thought about the reason for his dislike of the red since he had first realized he didn't like Larg, and had come up with an answer. "He lives to fight, while we fight to live. It is a very big difference."

"Oh." Speck seemed satisfied with the answer.

The two stayed on their corner of the roof, and Larg lounged on his, an invisibly line forming.

"Are we to be fed?" Larg demanded after he was done cleaning himself. "I thought you said we were to be fed."

"The cooks will let something out on the grounds for our dinner." Smudge said calmly, spreading out his wings to warm them up in the sun.

"When is that?"

"Dinner time." Speck said, using a claw to itch at a thing beneath his scales and to groom himself.

"In a few hours." Smudge clarified.

Larg grumbled, but settled down to take a nap while he was waiting.

Time had never seemed more sluggish.

**//DRDRDR//**

Miranda wandered through hallway after hallway, but seemed to be getting nowhere. She had been looking for the way to get to the Supervisor's Office so that she could see if there was anything for her do do, but ... well ...

She had gotten lost. About five hours ago. And she was now hopelessly and terribly confused on exactly where she was.

And all of the hallways looked the _same_--

Tripping over something that can only be described as her own two feet, Miranda went down.

Sniffling, she got back up. If the Old Headquarters had been creepy and confusing at times, _this_ place was a labyrinth of similar looking places and empty rooms, with staircases up and down in the strangest places.

Miranda had almost given up any hope of finding her way back to a familiar path when she heard a familiar voice at a distance, echoing from some near-by intersection of halls. She almost weeped in relief when she realized that she could determine in which direction the voice was coming from, and ran face-first into Lavi before she realized that he was right around the corner.

Allen watched the collision and winced when Miranda collided with Lavi with a '_thwak_.'

Miranda had been moving forward with such a momentum that her forward force pushed Lavi and herself back into Allen, who them collapsed under the unexpected weight of both of them.

For moment there was silence as the group laid on top of each other with the wind and senses knocked out of the three of them. Then, almost with a collective breath, they groaned.

"I'm so sorry--" Miranda said on reflex, still dazed.

"My head--" Lavi grumbled under her, still not quite sure what had just hit him.

"Get _off_--" Allen wheezed, the smallest of the group underneath the other two, hardly able to breathe as they collectively crushed his ribcage.

It would have been quite comical, if anyone had been around the witness the spectacle as the group de-tangled and took a quick inventory of what had just happened.

"Oh Miranda," Lavi said, almost laughing after she had told the two of her predicament. "You're just as bad as Allen. He couldn't find his way to Breakfast this morning, and he was just lucky that Link found him or he might 'of just wasted away! Isn't that right Beansprout?"

Allen scratched his head sheepishly. "We do both have a horrible sense of direction ..." He gave a small glare in Lavi's direction. "And it's _Allen_."

"Anyway," The red head cheerfully told Miranda, "Me and Allen were just going to take a look at what Central's Science Sections were working on down here."

"Central's Sections?" Miranda asked back, plainly confused.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Lavi asked. "Central sent over their own scientists to make up two new Sections, and apparently they're working on how to make better weapons against akuma."

"... really?" Miranda's curiosity (not often seen) came to the surface.

"Yep! So me and Allen were going to check it out; wanna come along?" Lavi asked in invitation. "We could bring you to Komui's office if you don't want too."

Now this was an interesting choice.

Miranda really did want to see what experiments could be going on in the lower levels, _but _she was also very hungry and had yet to eat either Breakfast or Lunch ...

In the end she declined, asking to be lead to the Cafeteria.

"No problem," Lavi said, putting on arm around Miranda's shoulder and another around Allen's. "I think Allen's bottomless stomach was about to demand a feeding anyway."

As if to prove the statement, Allen's organ took that moment to '_grrrrowl_' at them, making Lavi laugh when Allen mumbled that he _was_ a bit peckish at the moment.

So, the three made their way back up to more inhabited hallways, not knowing that two floors down a scientist was fuming over the fact that not only had his incompetent subordinates lost the blue specimen they had found, but that they had also failed to bring in the green specimen for study.

"_Idiots_!" He ranted at the unfortunate scientist currently working with him. "We're stuck with nothing but _idiots_! How are we supposed to create something to destroy akuma with when the only material that can destroy Dark Matter is unavailable for study!?"

"We still have the sample we took from the blue one ..." The Other said nervously. "We can try to create something similar to that ..."

"The samples we collected earlier were only _soft _tissue!" The Mad scientist yelled to the room, typing madly away at a computer with unnecessary force. "We need the harder, _armor_-like tissue before we can build anything ready for _battle_. And all of the attempts to merge the cellular structure with a human subject have just proved the need for a harder, scale-like skin is needed for survival outside of a controlled environment."

The Quiet man shuttered at the thought of the current 'test subject' on display.

"If only we could get unrestricted access to one of the creatures on the roof ..." The Loud scientist continued, looking greedy. "... the army we could create ... oh, yes, the possibilities ... the pitiful akuma and their Maker wouldn't stand a chance against such an army of God ..."

The Quiet scientist remained silent as his louder companion trailed off, lost in the possibilities.

"But," The Quiet one said in the silence of them typing, "We don't have access to the dragons on the roof. They are strictly for combat only, as we can't afford to lose the fighters we do have."

"Yes ..." The Loud one sighed in defeat. "We do need those on the roof just as much as we need exorcists ... but, that is why we need to use the smaller, useless ones we can find for our studies, so that we may create something to support our Soldiers of God."

"Gentlemen," A voice called from the doorway, interrupting them both. It was the Head Scientist of their Section, Legory Peck, looking at them through his glasses.

The two quickly acknowledged the other man's presence with greetings and quick nods of respect.

"How is the work going?" Peck asked, looking with quick glances at the men's respective screen's.

"We need more substances to work with." The Loud man grumbled, politely. "We've gotten as far as we can with what we've got."

The Quite man nodded in agreement to the others statement.

"Well then, we'll all just have to hope Ms. Fay keeps up her end of this project, now won't we?" The cultured men told them with a sniff. "And, while we're waiting, I think it would be best for you two to _bathe_. You both smell absolutely foul."

And, with that said, the Section Leader of the 'underground' lab was gone, leaving the two scientist to glance at one another.

"We can't smell that bad," The Loud one exclaimed as he got up from his chair, sniffing experimentally at himself.

"Maybe it was the subject we dissected this morning," The Quiet man pointed out, saving all of his work and turning off his computer. "The smell could have lingered from that."

"True ..." The Loud scientist sighed, opening the door out for the other scientist. "But, we really do need more information if we're supposed to build the 'perfect solider,' now don't we?"

"Yeah ..." The Quiet man lead the way as they walked through the lab, specimens floating quietly in their tubes. The Quiet man tried not to look at the half-living, half-dead things there.

But, nevertheless, he turned green just from being near them. He was more of a 'calculations' guy anyway.

They locked the lab door behind them, and walked away to wash and get something to eat before working again.

And, they thought hopefully, maybe by the time they got back there would be something to work with.

**END 18. Meeting Red.**

**AN**:

**(1)** Gremlin's words in green-dragon-tongue, translated. "_Graauh, Kshama-gaal, Shi-lee, Shi-lee_."(Brother, Worry-not. I-here, I-here)  
Wow ... I fell like I crammed a full Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner into this chapter. Wait, I just about did ... Lunch is in there anyway ... Link had Breakfast with the last one ...

So, who's up for Dinner?

Enjoy ... and REVIEW, even if it's only to give _criticism_ ... CRITISISM is WELCOME HERE. The reds EAT IT UP.

Happy Friday everyone!

-knux33


	19. Taming Red

Title: Dragon's Lies

Author: Knux33

Disclaimer: I don't own D. Gray-Man. If I did, THERE WOULD BE DRAGONS.

**19. Taming Red**

Dinnertime at the Black Order was a ... chaotic affair, to say the least. People came in anywhere from five to seven to get their Dinner, and some people were even known to come in for food at all hours, do to erratic work schedules.

And then, there were the dragons that had to be fed, of course ...

But, after careful deliberation that very morning, it had been decided that the cooks would just let lose a few live animals for the dragons to eat during meal time, so that they didn't have to haul the dead meat upstairs for the creatures to eat.

When first told about the arrangement Ammy had been angry, and had gone off to fish for her own Breakfast (Sunny tagging along with the excuse that she wanted to watch) and both had yet to come back, apparently having fun just off the coast.

And now Lavi, Miranda, and Allen entered the large room, only to find a very angry Bridget verbally assaulting Komui as he ate some pancakes with the Crazy man.

The owl-eyed, brown-haired companion to the red dragon, Larg, on the roof didn't seem to mind her cold tone, though, and ate his pancakes with a childish look of happiness while Komui was quite calmly talking to her.

"I _thought_ you were seriously ill!" She said, seemingly unable to properly vent her frustration in words alone.

"Nope." Komui said, taking a large, syrup-covered bite of pancake.

Gremlin giggled as he watched the proceedings from the other side of the table, snatching a bite of sausage from Komui's plate when the Supervisor wasn't watching.

"You—_you_—," She was at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing like a fish's.

"Hmm?" Komui prompted, chewing with the most childish look on his face he could muster.

"I think Mean-Lady's going to explode, Brother." Gremlin chirped, barley able to contain the happiness from his voice. The green was really hoping the woman would actually self-destruct.

It was the glee in the green's voice that did it.

"You low-lifed-de-evolved-_slug_!" Bridget exploded in Komui's general direction. Apparently, that was the best insult she could come up with without adding a curse word.

Several heads turned (though many of them had been watching already) and the whole thing took on the air of a 'performance.'

"P-sh" Gremlin dismissed her insult with a wave. "Brother is not slug. Brother is Brother."

"And _you_—," The woman turned on the dragon, "Don't think I've forgotten. You've put holes in more places than I can count, and one of those holes happens to be in _my ceiling_!"

"So?" The green said, grabbing a pancake from the pile in front of Komui and the Crazy.

"It's going to rain tonight you _beast_!"

"So go someplace else, Mean-Lady." The dragon stated quite calmly.

With a look of frustration that promised vengeance to come, the woman stomped away, fed up with her job. She was done for today. On her way out, she closed the door with a 'slam,' and silence descended.

Until Gremlin guffawed and fell to the floor with laughter. And there the green rolled about, doing much to ease any lingering tension in the room.

"PaAan-c-cakes, _gooOooOd_." The Confused man commented to himself.

"Yup." Komui agreed.

"Let's do that again!" Gremlin said to Komui once he had calmed down enough to climb back onto the table.

"Do what again?" Lavi asked, pulling up a chair as Allen and Miranda did the same. "Make your secretary have an emotional breakdown?"

"No no no," Gremlin said to the Junior Bookman. "_Trick_ Mean-Lady, then make her 'xplode."

"How did you trick her?" Allen asked, grabbing the pan-cakes Komui and the other hadn't eaten and shoveling them down his gullet.

"I faked several signs of illness, causing Ms. Fay to run away." Komui said, giving what he hadn't eaten on his plate yet to Allen's rapidly vanishing pile of pan-cakes."Then I went up onto the roof to greet our new arrival here."

The three exorcists moved their eyes curiously towards the dazed-looking man eating pancakes with a small carefree smile.

"H-hello," Miranda greeted first, being the one sitting closest to the brown-haired man. "My-my name is Miranda Lotto. What's y-yours?"

The man blinked at her owlishly.

"..." Miranda slowly began to panic as the silence lengthened.

"PaAan-caaake?" The Crazy man offered her, presenting a bit of the food fully syruped on the end of his fork.

"N-no thank-you ..." Miranda stuttered, confused.

The man dressed in rags shrugged, and ate the piece himself, chewing ever-so-happily.

"He's a little ... confused." Komui told them.

"Ya mean not quite right in the head," Lavi commented, giving the nameless-name a measured look. "The lights are on, but nobody's home."

"To put it simply, yes." The Supervisor sighed. "I'm not quite sure what to do with him actually. Leaving him alone is out of the question, but I'm not sure exactly _who_ could watch him--"

"I could," Lavi volunteered. "I'm used to craziness. I mean, I _do_ hang out with Yuu-chan after all." The red-head grinned at his own joke.

"Hmm ..." Komui thought about it. "No, I don't think Bookman would appreciate his apprentice being turned into a valet for a Crazy person ..."

"I c-could t-try--" Miranda said, wanting to be useful.

"No offense Miranda, but I think he would just freak you out." Lavi pointed out.

"Don't worry about it," Komui told the group, getting an idea. "I'll just assign one of the Finders to him. One of them will probably have more free time than any of you, anyway."

"_Laa_Aaarg?" The Confused man said, done with his pancakes.

"Okay," Komui told him cheerfully. "Lavi, if you could bring him to the roof while I get a Finder?"

"No problem," Lavi told the Supervisor cheerfully. "Come on," The red-head addressed the Crazy man. "I'll bring ya to ... 'Larg.'"

The brown-haired man nodded enthusiastically, following behind the Junior Bookman like a duckling.

Allen swallowed the last of the Dinner that Komui and the Confused man had been eating, and got up to follow, thinking that it would be a good opportunity to check up on Speck.

Komui went on his way to find a Finder and Miranda was left with the dirty dishes, looking a little dazed at the speed that she had been left behind.

**//DRDRDR//**

Ammy was home, and she was not pleased.

First of all, it was harder to catch fish than she had originally thought, and it had taken most of the day to find a school of fish swimming close enough to the surface for her to snatch them up.

Second, she had gotten awfully wet doing so, and the salt was just beginning to dry in between her scales in a very uncomfortable fashion.

Third, Sunny had caught more fish than she had, and was flaunting the fact at every opportunity, much to the orange dragon's displeasure.

And, finally, there was a red on the roof. _Her_ roof. Why in the _hell _was there a _red _on her roof!?

She blamed Smudge.

"Lump!" The 'Queen' demanded. "What the hell is going on?"

Smudge lifted his head from his paws; he, Speck, and Larg having only just finished eating their Dinner. "Are you talking about Larg?"

"I'm talking about the _red lump_ on _my_ roof!"

Sunny watched the conversation intently, head swiveling from one direction to the other as she laid down next to Speck.

"The 'red lump' is Larg. He will be staying with us ... for the duration."

Larg himself was snoring away in his 'corner' of the roof, hunger sated and blood lust quenched for the day.

Ammy glared at the black, still standing. "For what 'duration,' Lump?"

Smudge 'shrugged' with his wing joints. "For the duration of his stay here, of course. And I would like it if you addressed me properly by my name please."

"I will call you whatever I _want_ to call you," Ammy growled, in a very, very, unpleasant mood.

Smudge just shrugged again, and put his head back on his paws. He was tired.

Ammy was five seconds away from deep-frying the black into something edible, when a brown, human, head popped up from the hole in the roof.

"Laaarg?" A wavering voice called.

The red awoke in mid-snore, coughing himself awake. The red laughed at the human, and the raggedy, owlish man jumped out of the hole like a rabbit, and stumbled over to the red.

"Ah, my little Chosen, where have you been?" Larg rumbled, nudging the man with his nose.

"PaaAn-cAkes." The Crazy said, smiling foolishly.

"Did you like them?"

"Yeeees, _GoOood_."

"Good." The red stretched his wings, making the mistake of stretching a little too close to the already irritated Ammy.

The orange promptly flamed the wingtip that was intruding in her facial area.

Larg yelped, pulling the wing back with a snarl.

Before anything else could happen beyond that--

"Hey!" Lavi demanded, the second rabbit to come out of the hole. "Cut that out!"

Ammy glared at Lavi, looking almost ready to barbecue _him_. "Why is there a _red_ on the roof?"

The Bookman apprentice blinked at the unexpected question. "Because ... we don't have enough room inside?"

The orange snorted at him. Larg still had his teeth bared, growling quietly. The Crazy had gotten out of the reds way, and was now inching behind Sunny, as if to hide.

"A red should _not_ be aloud among civilized beings, Servant, and I demand that--"

"_Civilized_?" The red grumbled, ever-so-deeply.

Smudge was watching with one open eye, faking calmness as his body tensed, ready to do anything in the event of trouble. Sunny and Speck had seemingly turned into too very transfixed gray and yellow rocks.

"You think you are _civilized_?" Larg exclaimed yet again, standing to look at the also-standing-orange-female in the eye. "Bah! Here, we do not even have a roof over our heads, nor a proper Colosseum."

Lavi, noting the tense atmosphere back away from the orange dragon also, motioning at Allen for the younger exorcist to stay where he was, still mostly 'inside' the hole.

Allen followed Lavi's silent order, but kept his head above the roofline, where he could almost see what was going on.

Ammy hissed at the red.

Larg growled, revealing his fangs.

It was quite like watching two wolves asserting dominance over each other, Lavi reflected, joining the Crazy man behind Sunny and Speck. He would rather be out of range if the two actually tried anything.

And that they did.

Red and orange crashed together like a bloody sunset, biting and slashing like any other pair of beasts. But black moved in and separated the two, forcing orange back with a few slaps of his tail and facing the red full on, shoving the other male off of the edge of the roof.

Wings working, Larg lifted himself into the sky when the ground ran out from under him, and Smudge followed, the red raging and the black thinking.

Lavi watched with his one green eye, wondering just what was going to come of this.

Ammy growled after the two, but did not take to the air after them.

"I thought you wanted to tear something to pieces?" Sunny asked. "Why are you not partaking?"

"Because," The orange snorted at the yellow. "Fighting would be a barbaric thing to do."

Lavi gapped in disbelief at 'his' dragon as Allen climbed out of the hole, only to be glomped by a very happy Speck.

"You're the one that _started the fight_!" Lavi yelled at the beast watching the black and red spiraling far, far above their heads. "And why aren't any of you at least _trying _to help Smudge?"

"Because reds don't work that way." Sunny told him, sounding like she was trying to be polite. "This is a fight for 'dominance.' They'll fight, but only until who is stronger is determined."

"But what if Smudge gets hurt?" Allen asked, trying to get Speck's nuzzling nose off of him.

Ammy snorted. "If he had not wanted to get hurt, then he would have let_ me _tear the stupid red apart."

"LAaarg ... n-not ... stuuUpid ..." A quiet voice said behind Sunny's large yellow bulk.

Ammy zeroed in on the voice, and narrowed her eyes. "_You_, are not in any condition to say who is stupid and who is not."

"And how would you know that?" Lavi asked her just as scathingly.

Allen watched from where Speck was 'showing' his affection. Was it just him, or did Lavi seem annoyed for some reason?

"Because it is obvious he has tasted the red's blood of course." She snapped at him.

Silence.

"And what the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"'Red blood makes good bones, but bad brain.'" Sunny quoted helpfully. "We, that is, Smudge, Ammy, Speck, Gremlin, and I all use fangs in our mouths to use 'innocence' on creatures other than ourselves."

Ammy nodded. "But, some others don't use that method, so the power is trapped in their blood."

"So, for them to use their power on others--" Sunny continued.

"--Their blood must be swallowed." Ammy finished.

Lavi and Allen stared quite dumbly at the two.

"Did you understand any of that?" Allen asked Lavi.

"Sort of ..." Lavi mumbled.

"I think Smudge has the upper hand," Sunny told them all.

The group looked up, and saw that the Black dot was ... next to the red dot.

"Ah ... please clarify for those of us who can't see like a hawk." Lavi asked.

"Smudge has just gotten above Larg slightly ... giving him the 'upper hand,' like I said." Sunny explained slowly.

"And," Ammy added, gazing upward, "I think he has just torn open the red's shoulder--"

With that said, a blotch of red fell somewhere a few yards away, and little red drops landed wherever the wind precariously tossed them.

"I would close your mouths if I were you," Ammy announced. "Unless, of course, you wish to end up like _that_." She pointed at the Crazy man currently sucking on a drop of red that had landed on his hand, brown eyes glazed over.

Lavi and Allen promptly kept their mouths shut.

**//DRDRDR//**

Higher.

Smudge worked his wings, watching his opponent at every upward turn. Higher.

He had already cut the red's shoulder open to the bone, but the red was not fazed, and had only laughed at the wound and resumed trying tear Smudge open in kind.

The black would not let the red's seeking claws touch him. He flew higher and higher, above Larg, stubbornly keeping his higher position.

Smudge would show this red just who was in charge here.

Larg was smaller, and had a smaller wingspan, therefore he needed to beat his wings more often to attain hight, but that also meant the red was lighter.

With such little size difference, the contest would be a close one.

Well, it would have been a close fight, if Larg had used his brain. As it was, Smudge had a plan, and stuck to it.

With another quick strike, Smudge marked Larg yet again, this time tearing at the other dragons other shoulder. The would was as deep as the last one, and more yellow bone was revealed.

The red laughed again, but it seemed less confident. Larg's wingbeats took on a more tired quality. Red blood continued to fall and land who-knows-where, while Smudge remained unscathed.

It was like dancing, Smudge reflected. Only, without the music, and with a sharp concentration instead of a dream-like bliss.

The black prepared to strike one last time, and folded his wings completely.

Larg realized what Smudge was up to a moment too late, and got the wind knocked out of him when the black fell onto him, forcing the both of them to fall.

For beings such as themselves, there is no fear of falling. There is only a strange sort of thrill and surge of adrenalin as the ground threatens them.

The black and red tore into one another, fully aware of every yard lost to gravity.

Smudge sank his fangs into the base of Larg's neck, causing the red to stop all movement instinctively as the Death Grip tightened in warning.

The position was held for several tense moments as the two spun and fell ever further, Smudge in control of the reds life pulsing beneath his jaws, fully aware that he could choose to snap the red's neck of he wanted to.

But, Smudge didn't want to, no matter how much he disagreed with the red's lifestyle.

This was simply a matter of dominance.

They fell lower. Smudge waited while Larg contemplated the options.

Lower.

Option one, admit defeat. Option two, get crushed by gravity.

Lower.

The black would be able to make an escape at the last minute if he decided to, while still forcing the red to get the full impact.

With one last laugh, Larg cried Defeat, and the two broke apart to land with far less grace than usual, as the ground happened to be far too close to ignore.

**//DRDRDR//**

"See, _see_!? I _told_ you I saw something--" The Loud scientist exclaimed, running at the head of the pack of people trying to get to where the two dragons had landed.

The Quiet scientist huffed next to the Loud one, not up to taking and running at the same time.

The rest of the group behind then was too far away to hear the Loud man's ravings.

"And we'll get what we need without having to go through the others! We'll get it all ourselves--!" The Loud Scientist seemed to get his second wind, and he inching farther ahead of the main group of Finders and others that were going to investigate the two dragons bleeding on the front lawn.

**//DRDRDR//**

Smudge and Larg laid a few yards apart on the perfectly-clipped green lawn, staining bits of it red.

"I ... knew it." The red panted to himself, trying to catch his breath.

"Knew ... what?" Smudge asked, just as winded. The maneuver it had taken to land without braking anything had strained both past the point of simple weariness, and both were content to lay quietly next to the one they had been trying to tear apart only moments ago.

"That you were the Alpha, not that orange fire-wench." Larg licked at the wounds on his shoulders as he spoke, seemingly smiling at the taste of his own blood.

Smudge blinked at the red, thinking. "None of us is more 'dominate' than the other." The black explained. "We are just friends."

"But _you_," The red laughed back. "Were the one that properly combated me; not any of the others."

"I am bigger." Smudge used as an excuse, just noticing several people jogging in their direction.

"You are Alpha." The red said with a touch of respect. "If you were anything less, I would of beaten you."

"No offense," The black said, beginning to lick at his own minor scratches. "But beating you was not very hard."

"You knew when to dodge and when to attack all-out," The red rumbled. "You are a fighter that thinks. That makes you Alpha."

Smudge rolled his eyes at Largs supposed 'logic,' but did not argue. As long as the red was less likely to eat people, the black would put up with being called 'Alpha.'

Then, the people arrived.

The first was a very Loud human, with spiky blackish hair, and a long angular face. The human was very eager to look over the wounds both Smudge and Larg had, and wanted to tend them.

"I will be fine." Larg had growled when the Loud human had not taken 'No, we are fine,' for an answer. "Just get me some drink."

"Water?" The second human that had jogged its way there asked Quietly.

The red had snapped his head down to the poor humans eye level with a growl. "I want a _drink_. Not water."

Smudge had been confused by the red's request. So had most of the humans. Except for the Loud one, that ask with surprise: "You want _beer_?"

Larg had nodded at that. "A few barrels of whatever alcohol you have. I hurt like I just got through a rough mating flight with a _Gash-ia_, and sting twice as much."

Smudge had never heard the word 'Alcohol,' and asked the Quite human what the term meant.

The Quiet scientist had been quite happy to talk to him. "Alcohol is a drink that many people care to partake in to 'loosen-up,' or to 'drown' their troubles."

"And the drink does that?" Smudge asked, astonished.

"Uh ... I think results very from person to person." The Quiet man answered truthfully. His facial features were less 'sharp' than the Loud man, and he seemed less inclined to twitch as well.

The Loud man was still inching towards Larg while staring at the bone and muscle and mess of scales all torn apart.

Most of the other humans had gone back in search of a few kegs of drink for the large red beast, mumbling uncertainly amongst themselves.

The Quiet man cleared his throat hesitantly, and fidgeted with one of his lab coat's sleeves. "Um ... Sir Dragon?"

"I am Smudge." The black said kindly. The dragon knew very well that some humans were probably scared or nervous around him, but this was one of the first chances the dragon had ever had to truly introduce himself to one of those people.

"S-Smudge, I was wondering if I could possibly have one of your loose scales please? For research?" The Quiet man had rushed the sentences out, and Smudge was surprised with the request.

"Of course," The black said, inspecting his black hide. "You have only to ask. I have also given Mr. Reever some samples, and you can probably ask his if you want any more." The dragon was used to people asking for bits of himself, or to being inspected.

The scientists request was only to be expected. After all, the humans were very curious creatures, Smudge had come to learn.

The relived smile and look of happiness on the man's face make it worth it when the scientist carefully extracted a few scales, bits of skin tissue and other bits off of the blacks hide.

The Loud scientist watched with a greedy look, but Smudge ignored him.

Humans ... were truly curious things.

**//DRDRDR//**

Head Cook Jerry was quite at a loss. "A few _barrels_?" He asked the small group at his ordering window. A few of the other cooks inched closer as they worked to hear the conversation.

"Yeah," The Finder said. "The dragon wants alcohol."

"What kind?" Jerry asked.

"I dunno ..." The Finder fidgeted.

"Beer? Rum? Whiskey?"

"Um ..." The group huddled, and Jerry waited.

"What do you have the most of--?" The Finder began, only to be interrupted.

"BeeeEEeer ..." An eerie voice intoned behind the group, making half of them jump and flinch.

They turned, and Jerry saw a mop of messy, spiky brown hair passed a few of their heads.

"Laaarg Liiikes BeeEer." The Confused man said, owlish eyes staring in a creepy, distant manner.

"O-okay ..." The Finder said, and the Crazy man loped back to where Allen and Lavi were curiously looking in from the hallway at him.

The strange group of two plus a Confused third continued on their way, Allen asking the Crazy man what he had been doing.

The Crazy stayed silent, owl eyes blinking in a slow manner at the white haired boy.

"You know what Allen," Lavi said as the group continued to look for Komui to tell the Supervisor what had happened just recently on the roof, "I really think we need to give this guy a name."

"?" Allen gave Lavi a questioning look.

"Seriously! We can't just call him the 'Crazy Guy,' now can we?"

(**AN**: Yes you can ...)

Allen nodded. "After we see what happened to Smudge and Larg." The boy agreed.

So the two continued on their way down.

**//DRDRDR//**

Bridget watched with a grown headache as a small group of men tried to smuggle several barrels of a ... unknown substance out of the Cafeteria without permission.

It would have been comical to see the panicked look of the Finder's and Scientist's faces if she hadn't been sporting a very bad migraine and large amounts of annoyance towards a certain Supervisor and his pet.

As it was, she wanted to chew them up and spit them out when they told her what was in the barrels.

"_Beer_?" She said, annoyance level rising.

"T-the Dragon wanted it ..." One Finder said in their defense.

"Oh, really?" Like she was going to believe something as stupid as _that_.

"Really!" The Finder tried to convince her. "He told us to get it because he had just been beaten up by the other Dragon and that it hurt as much as mating a ... a ... blimey guys, what was that word it used?"

"..." Bridget wondered if the pay she was getting was worth this as the group tried several rough sounding words.

No. The pay wasn't worth it.

"Well ... the word wasn't important. But the poor thing was torn bloody, and it probably deserved a drink anyway." The Finder finished lamely.

"... and it was 'torn bloody' because?"

"Well hell if we know. The black and red had probably disagreed on something or another."

Beneath all of the agitation, something connected. Ms. Fay realized she could _use_ this. Two creatures of immense power and size fighting ... how would Komui be able to shove this under the rug?

He wouldn't, if she had anything to do with it.

"Disagreed?" She asked. "What sort of 'disagreement' would merit a reaction like that?"

The Finder looked at her funny, and the rest were starting to move the barrels again. "_I _don't know lady." And the group all but ran away, trying to get away from the question they couldn't (or didn't want to) answer.

With a small look of carefully hidden glee, she quickly went to tell her fellows about the opportunity at hand.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Well, you see," Larg was explaining to Smudge, "I had found my Chosen in a city, in the dirty side of town. He had been sleeping in an alley way. It was only because of my small size at the time that I was able to find him without being seen. I had killed a few akuma on the way (I didn't want to pass up the opportunity while I was still small and hard to notice), but the Things had done a number on me, and I had quite a few holes in my hide.

That was how my Chosen first came to get a ... taste of it. My blood, that is. Boiled all the sense right out of his little head, though I doubt there had been much there to begin with. But, we stayed in the city a few days until I grew too big for the place. We had quite a time of it, let me tell you.

My Chosen, as you know, is a bit crazy." Larg waved a claw in a circular manner by his temple. " I had wanted to kill a few Things inside the town, but he didn't understand what I wanted half the time. Once I asked him to bring me the Bartender (as the man was a akuma) from inside a local Bar, but the Crazy brought me back a drink instead. I liked the taste, so I asked him to get me another drink.

Only _then_ the fool of the human brought the Bartender out to me. I think it was then that I realized what this stuff was."

The red grabbed a barrel of beer and inserted the whole of it into his mouth, eating the wood and metal along with the drink.

The Finders and Scientists had been quite astonished when Larg had done this with the first barrel they had rolled out, but were now quite comfortable with it was they sat around listening the the dragon's story.

"Makes me feel quite content, you know. I'll be damned if I know what's in this God-awful stuff, but it makes me less likely to eat someone. No offense." The red said to the humans. "But I do tend to eat things. People-ish things. Otherwise, things would get faaaar to boring for my taste."

"No offense taken ... I think," The Loud scientist said with a small amount of confusion. The beer had not only made the red less aggressive, it had loosened the dragon's tongue.

"Very good. Now where was I ...? Oh, yes, City. Well, once I was too large to go unnoticed, I took my Chosen out where there were less people. We traveled through rough terrain, eating what I could catch for us. Then, well, I got tired of only eating dumb beasts, so we went to where I could kill Things instead. And then you lot found us and we came here. End of story."

The red nodded to himself, eyes closed. "Now, if only you lot had some wine ... my Chosen got me a whole barrel of wine once. Tasted better that this junk. Made the wood of the barrel taste better too. But, then again, beer does go to my head a lot faster ..." Larg trailed off, upper body swaying slightly.

Smudge was astonished with the change that had come upon the red, and decided that it would be best for Larg to have this 'alcohol' substance whenever he wanted it.

The Finder got up from where they had been sitting in the grass, listening to the story, stretching and talking amongst themselves. The two Scientists took the samples they had gathered, and went leisurely on their way, one Loud and one Quiet.

Smudge got to his feet, and nudged Larg to rose the red from the dose he had fallen into. "Come," The black said. "I am sure we should go back now, before it gets too dark."  
Indeed, the sun was setting, and the cloudy sky made the world all the darker.

Larg blinked, looking strangely owlish (like his Chosen) in his intoxicated state. "I think it world be best for me to remain here. All the drink foaming in my head 'n all. I don't think I'd be able to fly with so much in me ..." The red trailed off again, and Smudge realized that Larg was probably right. The red would not be able to fly until the 'alcohol' had worn off.

With a resigned sigh, Smudge laid down again, deciding that a night on grass would not be bad at all, compared to a night worrying about the red being left to his own devices.  
But then, as if some greater power was laughing at him, it began to rain.

**//DRDRDR//**

"We have it!" The loud scientist cried cheerfully, causing several of the Finders to turn and stare at him as they all jogged through the rain back towards the main building.

The Quiet man sighed quietly to himself, thanking God for the miraculous circumstances that allowed them to gather the substances he now had bundled up in his lab coat.

"Yes, we have it. Now, what do we do with it?" The Quiet man asked his companion.

"We create an army to rival the Earl's of course!" The Loud scientist proclaimed, and the Quiet companion was glad that the rest of the group had already ran on ahead to the main building. Otherwise, he was sure, his Loud colleague would have drawn attention to them ... again.

The Quiet man doubted that they would be able to create an army with the samples of hard tissue they had just gotten. It wasn't enough. They had scale and muscle and extra flesh and blood now, but they still needed one crucial element.

Bone.

Without bone, the Quiet man didn't know how the new test subjects would turn out ...

With a shutter, the Quiet man slammed the thought away.

_What sort of monster am I_, He wondered, _to do this to people just like me?_

That thought, too, was locked away.

_I will do anything to save this world. Even if it makes me a monster._ Another inner voice said. _I am a monster trying to save the world._

"We'll do it!" The Loud man cheered. "We'll make ourselves an army!"

The Quiet man smiled to himself, soaked to the bone. "Yup. We'll beat back the End of the World."

The Loud man grinned back, looking a little less like a mad scientist with the water drenching him too. "We'll beat it back, even if we have to use sticks!"

The two laughed, not quite monsters when they were like everyone else, walking in the rain.

"Say ..." The Quiet one mumbled to himself with a soft smile on his soft face. "You don't think that this 'shower' can technically count as 'bathing,' do you? Otherwise, Section Leader Peck will have our hides for not listening to what was technically an order ..."

"Of course!" The Loud man exclaimed to his companions mumble. "We have taken our shower ... in the 'rain' shower!"

Yes ... they weren't 'monsters' per-say. Not now, while they were just laughing, walking, and talking, in the rain.

**END 19. Taming Red**

**AN**:

Well ... yeah. Oh, wait .. tihs story has supassed 100,000 words ... (Astonished) Wow ... I feel ... happy. Tired, but happiy.

Now, if only I could fit Krory in more, to make my Beta happy ... (Tired sigh) oh well.

Until next time ...

-knux33


	20. one Crazy night

**20. one Crazy night**

It was dark in the hallways. The expensive electric lighting was dimmed to a low level, giving just enough light to insure that any late-night prowlers would be able to see where they were going without mishap, and dim enough to not bother anyone sleeping in their respective rooms.

Toma would have liked to be one of those people currently sleeping, but, sadly, that wasn't possible. Her had to watch ... well, the man hadn't told the Finder his name yet, so Toma was at a bit of a loss as to what to call the brown-haired ... Crazy.

"Um, Sir?" The Finder tried, keeping his voice down. They were walking by some sleeping quarters at the moment, and Toma didn't want to awaken anyone accidentally.

The ragged man stumbled forward, looking for all the world like some sort of half-wild thing, eyes wide and owlish in a perpetual confusion, clothing still worn and tattered, as skinny as a skeleton, and short brown hair flat and matted atop his head.

Clearly, this man was not in his right mind, and that was why Toma had been assigned to watch him in the first place.

Toma tried again. "Sir?"

The confused stumbler came to a halt, and turned his head to blink at the strange person talking to him.

The Finder talked slowly and softly, as if to an unfamiliar animal. He had only just met this man at Dinner, after all. "Would you like to go to bed, Sir?"

"..." The Crazy man just continued to stare with those round, owl eyes of his.

"Are you tired?"

"..." The head tilted slightly at an angle, and because he was already partially turned, the movement almost made the man look like a _real_ owl. Toma tried not to be frightened, and failed.

He was alone, in a dark deserted hallway, with a crazy man.

At least he managed not to let any of his emotions show. With a deep, calming breath, Toma tried a different approach.

"Sir, what is your name?"

That question caused another slow blink, and for the Crazy's head to straighten slightly, as if listening to what the Finder was saying now. "... N-naaame?"

"Yes sir." Toma confirmed, slightly less frightened of the man now that he had heard the walking skeleton speak.

The Crazy seemed to ponder for a moment, glazed owl-eyes half-closed. "NaaaAaame ..."

Toma thought the man looked far more tame when his eyes weren't wide open like they usually were. The Finder jumped when the Crazy snapped around, eyes open to full owlish extent again, staring at him with a focus he had never seen there before. "Boooks." The Crazy said.

Toma gulped. The Crazy was looking scary again. "Sir?"

"B-books." Each word was a struggle, Toma could see when looking at the young man straight on. For it was now Toma realized this man was young, mid-twenties probably, and that it was his rag-tag appearance that made him look older.

"Would you ... like to go to the Library, Sir?"

The Confused man stared for a moment more, then, his head bobbed twice, up and down, in a sort of quick jerk, like he was unsure as if it were the right answer to give.

Toma slowly started off in the direction of the Library, and was relived when the Crazy man loped along behind him.

The Finder hadn't gotten his answer, but at least he was going somewhere in the dark empty hallways with a sure destination now. Somehow, with the path already picked out, the journey wasn't as bad as it was before, when he had been simply wandering behind a madman ...

**//DRDRDR//**

There was a Quiet yawn. Then, a Loud one followed, as yawns dotend to be contagious.

Then, there was a Quiet, almost silent sneeze, that wouldn't have been noticed if the sneezer hadn't jerked so violently with the convulsion.

There was a second, Louder sneeze, but with less body movement. Sneezes, also, are contagious, especially when both sneezing Scientists had been out in the rain, and hadn't bothered to put on a dryer pair of clothing after getting what they were currently wearing soaking wet.

Well, the two were working too hard to bother with something as trivial as their own comfort anyway.

They had just been given a new specimen to work with. A new 'volunteer,' actually. Why waste the willing test subjects that were neither Chosen to be Exorcists, fit enough to be Finders, or smart enough to be Scientists after all?

Waste not, want not ...

Carefully, they began spicing flesh and replacing it with what they had both gathered and tweaked artificially. There was no screaming, for the subject was drugged beyond caring. It would be inhumane to not do so ...

Though what they were doing could also be considered _inhuman_, when most of the test subjects died as the dragon/Innocence add-ons were too much for the human body to handle.

_But_, the Quiet scientist argued to his conscience, _the subjects were living for longer and longer periods __of time. And retaining a solid form ..._ Most of the earlier experiments had turned into goop.

Though the newer test subjects weren't remaining human, they were obviously beginning to try to change into _something_.

Unlike the experiments that related with direct human-Innocence connection, this indirect method of blood and flesh melding were yielding results. Disgusting, horrific results, but results all the same.

The two continued splicing their current subject open, replacing something here, adding a little here, while a bit of dragon blood was dripping into the experiment's veins the entire time ...

"Hmm," The Quiet man commented beneath his operating mask, cutting out a piece of unhealthy-looking organ. That was the reason for this man being on the operating table after all and not in a Finder's uniform ... he had lung cancer.

"What?" The Loud man asked beneath his, yanking out a bit of flesh with a bit more enthusiasm than was needed, causing extra bits to tear unnecessarily.

"We're going to need more blood soon ... the blue specimen samples are running out."

"Ah," The Loud agreed. "We'll just have to wait for Ms. Fay to bring us an extra sample or two."

"Mmm-hmm." The quiet scientist carefully added a bit of flesh he had gotten from the black, and watched with amazement as the dragon flesh melded with human. Extraordinary.

No matter how many times he saw the melding of two supposedly different bits of flesh, he couldn't help but be in awe of how quickly the pieces fit together.

Now, if only the scientists could get the bits to stay together, they would have something to show for their pains.

_A horrible, distorted puzzle board of body parts ... what could possibly come of this?_ The Quiet man had no answer for his own question.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Sir?"

The Crazy ignored the Finder, and continued with his careful searching.

"Sir, if you told me what you were looking for, maybe I could help you find it ..." Toma let his voice trail off when it became sadly apparent that the young man was not listening to him.

Again.

The Confused man didn't mean to be rude, but he was trying to find what he wanted before something else took his attention away from the matter at hand.

Name.

Name?

His name.

What was his name again? He strained his wide-open eyes to read faster, but it was a slow process. Words ... letters, sounds; all of these things were hard to think about. His head was staring to hurt.

Maybe stopping would be good ... maybe he could go back to looking ...

Looking for ...

Looking ...

Toma watched as the Crazy blinked slowly, hand poised before a novel on the ecosystems of mountain areas. With a hard head shake, the man was looking again, finger trailing along the spines of the old and new books.

There was a strange, almost feverish, glow about the skeletal man, and Toma was worried that the young man was sick or something, when the Crazy's hand stopped before another book.

The young man stared, mouth slightly open as he read and reread the book's title and author. His mouth curled into a smile, and a small, hysterical giggle escaped as he carefully slipped the small novel out from between it's two hugging brothers.

With that same smile he pointed to the author's first name, and showed Toma the book with an obvious glee at finding what he had been seeking.

The Finder blinked at the word the young man was pointing at with a thin finger. "Lewis?"

The Crazy gave a jerky nod. "Naaame."

"Sir ... Lewis is your name?"

Lewis blinked his owlish eyes in a manner that seemed tired, and nodded with a yawn.

Toma leaped on the opportunity; don't forget, the Finder was tired too. "Would you like to go to bed Sir Lewis?"

The Crazy nodded with a small smile, clutching the book to his chest like a child with a blanket. Toma didn't think anyone would mind if the novel went missing, it was only a story book after all.

'_Alice's Adventures in Wonderland._' Toma read the title to be. Huh. It was a Crazy book for a Crazy man.

The Finder turned to lead Lewis to an open room, but when he looked back to make sure the young man was following he saw that Lewis had found one of the couches in the Library, and was curling up in it.

"W-wait, Sir Lewis, your room is--"

The Crazy looked at the stammering Finder for a few moments, before blinking sleepily one last time and turning over. The young man's legs dangled over one of the chair's arms and the rest of him had taken up the middle of the one-person-seating-apparatus.

Lewis looked quite comfortable where he was, and didn't look like he would be willing to move anytime soon.

Toma just sighed, and looked around to see if any of the other couches were large enough for him to sleep comfortably in, as the Finder didn't think that he would be able to pull-off Lewis's position without some serious back aches.

Nope. All of the chairs were the same size. Wondering why he had been chosen for this tedious job, Toma put himself in one of the chairs, and tried to make himself comfortable.

For this Finder, it was going to be one long night ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Gremlin giggled to himself, making his way through the darkened hallways. No one was around, and it was amazingly easy for the small green to slip passed those that _were_ up and about.

He was going to explore the floors-that-had-Mean-People, and didn't want to be spotted. Brother was busy with something-or-nothing-paperwork , and none of the other Science People had noticed that he had gone.

Gremlin wanted to find out what the Mean People were doing that no-one else was looking for. He wanted to show the proof to Brother, so that he could make all of the Mean People go away, and leave them alone.

Becoming quiet as he reached the halls that were normally to-be-avoided, Gremlin wished he could be Not-There like that blue he had run into. Then, he wouldn't have to worry about being seen, and could search much faster.

But, he couldn't, so the green snuck carefully forward, ready and alert for any signs of Mean-People.

There were none that the dragon could see, or hear, or smell, so Gremlin pressed on. Surprisingly, most of the rooms he poked his head into to inspect were bare, naked of any furniture or pretty-things. Many were tiled, and every other room had machines inside that '_thrumm_'-ed.

Gremlin smelled stale human smells, and decided that most of them had gone to bed like the rest of the building. But, after going in so deep below that Gremlin was starting to get a little nervous, he smelled human-sent that was fresher, and heard talking from behind one of the doors.

The door was open a crack, and the dragon carefully poked his nose in, ready to burst into flight if the inhabitants of the room noticed him. As soon as his snout was it, the burning smell of disinfectant and alcohol assaulted his nose, becoming an almost painful sensation after all of the stale and soft scents of the hallways.

The dragon quickly got his head inside the room so he could see if anyone was inside, and was surprised to see that the majority of the room was inside a glass-like casing, and there was a second, air-tight door into the 'glass' layer.

And through the glass, Gremlin saw something that made all of his scales go flat against his body. There were people. Two. Three, if you counted the one the other two were sticking things into.

The dragon had expected something dreadful. He hadn't expected to find something horrifying.

Gremlin was used to seeing things eat each other. He was used to things tearing each other apart. He wasn't used to things _opening_ other things, and playing about with their insides.

And, as Gremlin saw one pull something out of the person on the table, and then stick something else in, the dragon realized that they were doing something dreadfully not-right.

They weren't trying to fix the human-on-table, they were trying to mix and match his insides with ...

The dragon inched further into the room.

With ...

What were those pieces the two were putting in? The green got as close as he could to the glass, glad the two inside were very intent on their current task.

The bits of flesh they were putting in were all in a small tub, and there were little hard bits ... like scales?

With a growing disbelief, the dragon realized what the two were putting into the third, and backed out and away as fast as his feet would take him, ready to fly away and tell Brother _now_.

People weren't supposed to do such things.

Mixing things in this way was wrong, and dangerous. Especially when the People probably had no idea what they were tinkering with.

But, just as the green turned around to get away as fast as his wings would carry him, he realized that he was no longer unobserved. One of the two that had been working on the human-on-the-table made a loud exclamation, and Gremlin knew that he would have to get out of here fast, seen-or-not.

He flapped and zoomed out of the room before the exclamation had a chance to echo.

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever sighed. Today was _not_ his day ... wait? He checked the clock and groaned.

_Night_. Tonight was not his _night_.

Trying to cover-up the fact that a large red reptile had rampaged through a city eating people was a surprisingly hard thing to do. And the task was eating up the time and energy the subordinate Finders out in the field had.

Sure, they'd had to cover up such things before, but this was a large and well-known city that had been attacked. Rumors and word had spread automatically, and it was hard to root out something like this once it had spread ...

But, at least they had one thing going for them. The story of a dragon attacking a city was unbelievable, and the very truth of the story would seem to make itself untrue.  
Like the story of a town stuck in one time/day for around a month, or a living doll ...

So, when a more believable explanation was spread by Finders and other operatives of the Order, it would probable be taken up as the true story, and the dragon-story would seem to be nothing more than an exaggerated faerie tale.

Until then, there were over a dozen people screaming their lungs out about 'demons,' 'dragons,' and 'damages.'

And ... there was still no real signs (besides Larg) of any Innocence out in the world. No strange goings-on (besides the usual 'haunted' house, or false rumor) and nothing that was really important.

The only strange thing Reever could think of would be the growing amount of Missing Persons reports. And that could mean anything.

With nothing better to do, the Section Chief was thumbing though the lists of people gone, and was surprised and disgusted by the amount that were both young and female.

He sighed again, and wondered if me might as well go to bed. There was nothing for him to really do at the moment (surprisingly), and Bridget had 'Komui-watch' now, not him. That the woman had left at Dinner, exasperated, to supposedly lock herself in her room, didn't change that.

The fact that he no longer had to badger the Supervisor every five minutes was probably the reason for his free time now, and Reever was astonished to find that he didn't really like free time. Sure, it was a good source of extra rest, but once he was fully rested, free time was nothing more than ... boring.

_Really_, boring.

No wonder Komui built all of those darn robots in his own free time. It was something ... constructive (_de_structive) to do.

And, after the boredom faded away ... it turned into strange wondering thoughts. Like_ these_ thoughts, for example. What the hell was he thinking about again that had gotten him in this tangent?

The Scientist's musings were disrupted when he noticed that he was the last one left in the lab. All of the others had stumbled off (work completed for once) to find their beds.

There really _was_ nothing for the Science Section to do when Innocence stopped popping up. It was their job to verify whether or not incoming calls from Finders were legitimate or not, and since Finders weren't finding anything ...

Boredom.

Reever snapped the book he had been reading closed and got up to stretch. He would have gone to bed after that, if a green blur hadn't zoomed into the room and smacked into a landing on his desk.

"Hide!" Gremlin yelped at the man before sliding into one of the desk drawers and then shutting it from the inside.

Reever was frozen for a moment, not sure what was going on, when someone else burst into the room. Two someones, actually.

A huffing guard, and masked Crow. The two seemed surprised to see anyone inside the Lab at this late hour (well, the guard did. Reever couldn't tell with the Crow.), and the guard quickly asked Reever if he had seen a green lizard flying about recently.

The Scientist blinked at the two, and slowly shook his head in a negative. "Sorry, I haven't seen Gremlin around here for ... hours."

The guard sighed in a long-suffering way. "If you see the lizard, please notify one of the other guards." The huffing man turned to leave, but the Crow stood where it was.

The guard paused, and the Crow jerked its head in a commanding motion.

The poor winded guard sighed again. "I'm sorry Sir, but if I could just have a look around ...?"

"Go ahead." Reever told him, sitting back down at his desk. "I'm still not finished with my work anyway."

Though Reever_ looked_ calm, on the inside he was wondering what in the Hell the little dragon had done to warrant this search, and how he was going to make sure that they didn't search his desk ...

Wait.

"Hey," He called over to the guard who was searching one of the messy desks to his left. The Crow was just standing a small distance away from the guard, apparently not obligated to search manually himself. "The last place I saw the dragon was in the Supe's Office, if that helps any."

The guard nodded his thanks and scurried off in the Office's direction, the Crow following behind a bit more slowly.

But, when they were both out the door and Reever heard their footsteps growing farther and farther away, he opened his desk drawer and glared at the dragon inside. "What was_ that_ about?" He demanded.

"I saw!" Gremlin squeaked at the man, eyes wide and gray pupils dilated. "I saw, I saw, I_ saw_!"

Reever took a deep breath, and asked in a more calm fashion: "_What_ did you see exactly?"

Gremlin stayed inside the desk drawer as he garbled his explanation, still looking slightly scared. "And, after I saw the Peoples mixing the Person with Dragon bits--" The green finished. "--I flewflew_flew_ away."

Reever gapped at the lizard. "People mixing ... human and dragon bits?"

"Yes, ugh, yes." Gremlin shivered. "Nonono good."

The Chief Scientist groaned and rubbed at his tired eyes. "Look, Grem, you need to hide somewhere else. When those two come back they'll search this place from top to bottom, and you can't be here when they do."

"I knows ..." The dragon said quietly. "But where to go?"

Reever thought for a moment, he snapped his fingers as he got an idea. "Look, if I bring you to Komui's Office after they search it, do you think you could find a place to hide in there?"

"Yes!" Gremlin cheered. "Oh, yesyes!"

"Okay ... now, all we have to do is get you in there without anyone seeing--"

Gremlin tried to take care of that problem by jumping into Reever's labcoat pocket from the desk drawer, but the dragon caused a slight bulge in the fabric, and one green tail seemed to be sticking out.

"I don't think you can fit in there." Reever told the dragon.

Gremlin snorted, and slipped from the pocket to Reever's shoulder to think. The green got another idea, and slipped beneath the man's shirt, wrapping around his chest.

Reever jumped when the dragon squirmed in, the scales feeling undeniably weird against his skin. "Hey--!"

"I fit!" The dragon announced before Reever could object.

It was true. There were no extra bulges that could be seen underneath the loose-fit labcoat, vest, and shirt. So, Reever got up, carefully readjusting his tie, and began walking to the Supervisor's Office in a leisurely manner, holding onto the missing-persons reports as an excuse to see Komui.

He looked through the papers again, to see if there was anything he could say that would make it seem like he needed to see the Supervisor for something important. Reever blinked when he realized that there _was_ something particularly strange about the missing people. A few of them anyway.

There was a substantial group that was below the age of nineteen, female, and all from the same area. A small thought tickled Reever's mind, and the Section chief had to hold back a guffaw at the very notion of it.

No ... dragons didn't _eat virgins_. Well ... at least the ones _he_ knew didn't anyway.

He opened the Supervisor's Office door almost before he realized he was there, and blinked at the strangely serious scene before him.

The poor guard was blabbering away, trying to look through the mounds of paperwork all over floor but failing, obviously looking for the dragon that wasn't there.

The Crow was right next to the door, so Reever had almost bumped into the masked person when he came in, and had the strangest feeling that the Crow was very annoyed with the failing search.

Komui was standing by his desk, seemingly calm, but Reever knew the Supervisor was probably wondering what Gremlin had done to get himself in so much trouble.

When Reever walked in, all eyes went to him. Used to such close scrutiny, he just cleared his throat and quietly explained that he had important news for the Supervisor.  
The three continued the stare at him, waiting for the news.

"I will tell the Supervisor ... when you two are done with your work." Reever finished. Gremlin squirmed a bit underneath his shirt, and Reever fought back the impulse to shudder.

Komui nodded at him, though obviously curious. "Well, you heard him! Chop-chop!" The Chinese man made dismissive motions to the guard and Crow. "Gremlin left this room hours ago, like I was _trying_ to tell these two, so they have no reason to hold us up."

Komui glared at the stuttering guard and silent Crow. "Well, get moving!" Ordered the Supervisor.

The guard stumbled out and the Crow walked out, though the Crow agent seemed reluctant with his movements. Reever slammed the door shut behind them, and, without further ado, Gremlin squirmed out from the man's shirt and flew over to Komui's shoulder.

The Supervisor didn't seem too surprised. "I was wondering where you went. And just _what_ did you do?"

Gremlin grinned. "I found Mean-People's evil plan!"

Reever sighed. Once the green dragon wasn't scared of being found, he seemed awfully cocky. As the little dragon explained what had happened to Komui, Reever looked with despair at the mounds of paperwork. Wasn't Ms. Fay supposed to make sure the Supervisor _did _his work for once?

Well, at least it wasn't _his_ job to 'babysit' the Supe anymore ...

Gremlin came to the end of his explanation quickly (there really wasn't that much to say) and Komui pondered over the information.

"We make all Mean-People go away now, right?" Gremlin asked. "Because this _proves_ they Mean. They doing Bad things and making Nothing Good."  
Komui was silent, still thinking hard.

Gremlin fidgeted a bit on the man's shoulder. "Mean-People will _have_ to go ... right Brother?"

Komui sighed. "That's not for me to say."

Reever let out a sigh. Poor Komui.

"What?!" Gremlin squawked, flapping from Komui's shoulder to the man's desk. "Why not?"

"The Grand Generals at Central are the ones in charge," Komui told the dragon carefully, seeing how upset the creature was. And scared. "Not me. Not the Inspector. The Grand Generals. And even then, I think there might be others higher up. The Grand Generals are just the ones I answer to."

Gremlin seemed to deflate. "Why so many? Why not just Brother? Brother does Good when in charge, they don't."

Komui sat down to look at the dragon eye-to-eye. "Because this Organization is too big for any one person. We _need_ the network they have set up with the countries of the world, and the global power they have."

Gremlin whined. "But they let Mean-People try to make Bad things."

Komui sighed. Reever glanced through the Missing-Persons filework, trying to act like he wasn't there and to get comfortable at the same time. It would be long time before the Supervisor would be able to truly explain a human's system of working things to a dragon, especially when it didn't make sense to the humans half of the time.

**//DRDRDR//**

The blue creeped over to where his Chosen had fallen asleep, trying to be quiet. He didn't want to wake up his Chosen if he didn't have to, but the dragon was too curious to leave the Inspector where he lay in peace.

The blue carefully scrambled up onto the desk, and slowly eased himself into an angle that let him see what strange paper-scribbles his Chosen had been inspecting.

Weird. The scribbles didn't look like any word-symbols_ he _knew, and the blue knew nearly every dialect known to dragon-kind.

Maybe humans had their own word scribbles, the blue decided, because the symbols were placed too neatly to be anything else.

The blue looked curiously up at his Chosen, only to jump when he realized the Inspector was awake and watching him. The blue whined at him in a rebuking tone, scolding the man without words for surprising him like that.

Link rubbed his eyes, tiredly stretching out his neck.

The blue snuffed at being ignored, and grabbed the book Link had been reading and proceeded to try to decipher the text while holding the novel upside-down.

Howard blinked at the dragon. "Can you read?" The Inspector asked.

The blue whined again, then shook his head, still trying to make sense of the scribbles. The dragon turned the book sideways to see if the text made any sense at another angle.

It didn't.

Link stared that the blue puzzling over book for a moment longer, then asked for the book back.

The blue handed it over, though it looked sad at being unable to read English. Surely his Chosen would be mad at his failure at being able to decipher simple scribbles.

Link just put the book away, before taking out a few sheets of paper and a pen. The blue watched curiously, making sure to stay to one side of the desk so he didn't get in the way.

Carefully and neatly, Link scribbled a symbol onto the paper. The blue wondered why the man was being so careful with just one symbol, when he had seen his chosen scribbled down things much faster.

Link finished writing the symbol, then turned the paper to face the blue. "This is the letter 'A,'" Howard began, and the blue felt Joy.

His Chosen was not mad at what the blue could not do! He was going to teach the blue what he did-not-know!

The blue would have told Link how happy he was, but he could not because he no longer had a tongue, so the blue just sat and listened intently, focused on learning what he did-not-know.

Joy. Happy. Content.

'A' was for '_ah_', and 'B' was for '_buh_.'

What strange sounds the humans made!

'L' was for '_lll_', and 'M' was for '_mm_.'

The blue was delighted when he found he could make the '_mm_' sound, as the throat made the noise instead of the tongue, and proceeded to 'mm' contently to himself.

'R' was for '_rr_,' and 'S' was for '_sss_.'

Link seemed surprised when the blue kept asking for knew letters as he showed the dragon each letter of the Alphabet. In a time Howard wouldn't have thought possible, they had gotten to the letter 'Z', and were done learning all of the sounds to go with each letter in both Capital and Lower case.

The blue was looking immensely satisfied with itself, and looking at Link with an expectant look. Obviously, the blue thought that there were more letters to learn, and was ready to learn as many as it could.

"And," Link told the dragon, "Those were the letters of the Alphabet."

The blue blinked at him.

Howard stretched, and yawned. "That's it. There are no more letters for you to learn."

The blue '_mm_'-ed, thinking, and then grabbed the book Link had been reading before the whole thing started, and carefully looked over the title.

The blue tilted his head, and slowly connected the symbols to sounds, the sounds to words, and the words to an image.

'W-ah-rr, oo-f ...' The blue carefully remembered the sounds Link had told him. ' ... t-hu-e ... w-oo-rr-lll-duh-ss ...'

And, the sounds made the words: 'War or the worlds'

And, the words made an image ...

The blue flapped at Link, to get the Inspector's attention, then spread his blue wings wide across the table, like two large sheets of blue paper, and _blend_ed the blue colors so that a large black dot formed, and the black dot formed two clouded planet-like objects, and then the planets began ramming into eachother in a violent fashion.

Link stared for a moment, then nodded in a dazed way. "Yes ... 'War of the Worlds' ..."

The wings un_blend_ed and the blue '_hmm_'-ed contently as he folded his limbs back to his back. Howard was thinking about how fast the creature had learned written word with apparently no real effort, and _still wanted to learn more_.

Making up his mind about the dragon, Howard got up and beckoned the blue to come onto his shoulder. The blue flew to his designated 'spot,' and _blend_ed as Link left his room.

The creature didn't seem to want to be seen by anyone it didn't have too, and Link didn't really mind the secrecy. It wasn't like the blue could be used for anything important ... yet.

But, if he could teach the blue (Link was really starting to think of things to call the dragon, and he did _not want_ to call this creature anything as demeaning as 'smudge,' 'sunny,' or 'speck.') how to read, and maybe send messages, while completely invisible ...

There would be not possible way to intercept such a message, or to get the information without the dragon willingly giving it to you.

But first ... if the creature was smart enough to read--

"You need a name." Link didn't care if he was talking to empty air, there was no one around to witness him talking to the invisible dragon at this late hour. "Do you have any preferences?"

The blue, after a moment, appeared, confident that no one else was around to see him. The dragon shook its head.

"..." Link pondered for a moment. "Have you had any other name before?"

The blue nodded.

"... Well?"

The small dragon spread a wing, and thought carefully while smelling out his name in hesitant, black lettering.

'LOOCEESALKA' The blue 'wrote' onto his wing.

Howard blinked at the impossible-looking word, realizing that even though he had taught the dragon all of the letters, he had not taught the dragon how to use them.

The inspector noted that the dragon would need lessons on 'writing' ... but this just added another plus to teaching the dragon. The blue wouldn't even need to carry the message ... the memorize it, then 'tell' whomever was receiving the message by writing it out.

"... Look--?" Howard tried, and the blue shook it's head, and 'erased' the writing, and re-wrote the name as: 'LuCEESALKA'

"... Lukie--?" Link began again, and the blue nodded enthusiastically at his Chosen for having the first bit down right.

Howard twitched. 'Lucky' was not a very distinguishing name for a dragon to have. "... I believe it would be most beneficial for me to just call you 'Luke.'" It was close enough to the original name without becoming overly-complicated, or silly.

The blue nodded, Happy at having a name, and Curious to see where his Chosen was bringing him.

When Link opened the Library doors quietly, he was surprised to see two of the couches ... occupied.

One of the two was currently sleeping in what looked like a very uncomfortable position; and if Link wasn't mistaken, the man was also a Finder, judging by his white attire.

The other occupant, however, was blinking sleepily from the couch he was on, brown hair a mess.

The newly named Luke was invisible in a blink, but not before the ragged-looking man got at least a second of seeing something on Link's shoulder.

The sleepy eyes went wide and round when Luke disappeared, but the man stayed in his chair. The Crazy's head tilted slightly, and he looked like an owl to Howard for a moment.

"... hello?" The Inspector tried, not recognizing the person and wondering if he was a Scientist (as they did tend to look ragged and crazy from time-to-time, especially after working overtime).

"... Blu-Uue?" The man responded, talking in a crazy warble.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh--!" The Finder had awoken from the small amount of noise caused by the conversation, and had fallen out of his chair. Toma quickly got up, and stammered out, "Sorry! I tried to tell Sir Lewis--," The Finder gestured to the owl sitting at a crazy angle in the chair. "--that he could us a bed, but he didn't want to leave, you see--"

"No, it's no problem," Link was quick to say, though he _did _disapprove of people sleeping in the Library for no good reason ... "I was just going to browse a bit ..." And so, Link was trying to make as little fuss as possible, while the Finder obviously trying to make excuses.

"Sir Lewis is ... not quite right in the head you see ..." The dull, but feverish look in the Crazy's eyes was enough to prove that fact.

"... I see." Link didn't like the way the supposed 'crazy' man was looking at the shoulder that had once held (and still did hold) a blue dragon.

"And he does not listen to what people say unless he wants too ..." This point was also proven by the way Lewis was ignoring every word said about him, but slowly getting up, book clutched under one arm.

"... yes ..." Link _really _did not like the way the crazy man was slowly coming closer to him, staring at his shoulder.

Toma had fallen silent as well, not knowing what sort of reaction to expect.

Howard tensed as the dragon held on tighter to his shoulder, and Lewis lifted up a hand to try to touch the 'empty' space when--

The Library door was slammed open (almost hitting Howard in the back) by an exhausted-looking guard and Crow that was giving off 'I-am-SUPREMELY-annoyed' vibes.

"Have ... any ... of you ..." The guard began, huffing and wheezing. "... seen ... a ... green ... _dragon_?"

Toma blinked, and shook his head in a negative. Howard also shook his head. He hadn't seen a _green_ dragon, nope.

Lewis gave a strange sort of smile. With his owl-eyes staring at the guard, he giggled out: "PaA_an_-caakes."

**END 20. one Crazy night**

AN: Why is the chapter so late? Weeeeell ...

My computer died for a week, then was revived by having it's battery/power converter replaced. I totally rewrote the chapter, and had it done about a week after that ... And then my Beta was gone somewhere far away for Spring break.

Oh, I spent MY spring break with family members from across the East Coast, and sulked around the beach as my younger cousins frolicked around in the sand. (_Hiss_, the sunlight, it burns my eyes!)

So, my reviewers, is the story good? Bad? Ugly? Or just Confusing? Neutral?

Oh, and before I forget, if I don't get enough reviews, Lenalee is going to be fed to a dragon ....

Komui: Nooooo! Not my Lenalee! (Grabs his sister and runs far, far, away.)

... anyway ... Happy Easter, and see you all on 4-20-09!

-knux33


	21. 21

**21.  
**

Water dripped, and echoes lingered, in this quiet place beneath.

Here, in this deep, water-filled cavern where the Black Order's hoard of Innocence was kept safe and secure by the oldest-known Innocence-Accommodater herself, Hevlaska.

Many years, she has held Innocence within her body, feeling the waves of power coming from the cubes, and hiding such serges of energy from the forever-searching akuma.

But, now ... things have changed.

Now, as she held the cubes of Innocence, now eggs, within herself, she felt not just their power.

She felt to stirring of restless young souls.

"Can we go now?" The restless bits of God asked. "Can we breath and fly and See and search?"

And, as she had told the Eggs when they first formed using comforting heat and warmth, "No. Not yet. You do not have a Heart yet."

Quietly, they dreamed. But, restlessly.

They wanted to go. They wanted to find new Chosen to bond with, to replace the ones they lost seven thousand years ago. To see what Darkness has done to the world they have not seen in so long.

They wanted to see for themselves if Humans have learned from their past Sins.

"Soon." Hevlaska said to quiet them all. "Soon."

A few Fragments would not be quieted in this fashion. They felt the ones-they-wanted nearby, and wanted out.

Out into the alien world.

Out to face the War.

Out to fight and rend the akuma that Humans made so tragically.

_Now_.

**//DRDRDR//**

Inside the darkened room, an old, worn clock _tick_-ed quietly into the silence, dutifully marking each moment as it passed, even if the soul occupant of the room wasn't currently awake to inquire the time.

Even though no one had any use for it at the moment, the clock kept ticking anyway, because someone would probably need to know what the human-made time was (6:18 AM, by the way) at some point. Clocks just worked that way: marking all time until they could no longer function.

The clock was set on top of the nightstand, one of the only pieces of furniture in the otherwise bare room. The occupant didn't mind it that way, and kept only one item especially for himself: a creepy painting hanging on one of the mostly-empty walls.

Speaking of the owner of the room, he was a lump under the bed covers at this early hour the clock was showing for all to see. The only visible parts of him were a head covered in messy white hair and an out-thrown right arm dangling from the bedside (though the bed was large, the teen had somehow managed to roll over to the extreme edge of the mattress).

But, in the early stillness of the morning, something moved, creeping into the room.

The Exorcists slept on, unaware of the small intruder.

Little wings flapped and the intruding creature hovered over the white mop of hair, poking the Exorcist's shoulder with it's tail.

Allen grumbled, then snuggled deeper into his bedding, using the no-longer-dangling pale arm to hug the sheets closer to himself.

The intruder, annoyed, did a dive-bomb into the sleeper's side, causing the teen to fall off the bed with an undignified yelp. And, for several comical moments, Allen Walker wrestled with the blankets that had managed to trap him and wonder in a half-asleep daze just what the hell was going on.

By the time he had untangled himself from the python-sheets and blinked back up at his bed a very familiar golem was grinning down with a set of very sharp-looking teeth.

Allen stared in disbelief for a moment, then smiled widely back. "Timcampy!"

The golden golem flew over to Allen, the Exorcist still half-tangled and sitting on the floor, landing into to nest-like bedhair.

The Exorcist was surprised at the golem's size and weight. "Where have you been?" He asked Tim, petting the golem on top of his head.

Timcampy spat out a wad of paper onto Allen's lap to answer the question.

Curiously, but with some dread as well, the teen read what was on the bits of stationary.

Bills.

"Ah ..." Allen's white eyebrow twitched. "... so that's where you've been ..." Then the Exorcists noticed just how _heavy_ the golem on his head was. "Just _what_ has Cross been feeding you?"

Tim ignored the question and snuggled deeper into the Exorcist's white hair, getting comfortable.

Allen sighed, looked at the clock, and groaned.

"Tiiim," He complained to the golem, getting up and stretching. "Why did you have to get me up so early?" The teen opened up the drapes covering his window, and blinked into the dreary rain-splattered landscape. "The sun isn't even up yet!"

Timcampy apparently didn't care about the hour, and just sat quietly while Allen's belly began to rumble.

Allen sighed, and began to take off his loose pajamas in favor of his new uniform. The fabric was different from what he was used too, and the outfit had red lining to go along with the normal black color, but Allen was used to trying different uniforms.

This one was ... what, the fourth uniform he had gotten while working for the Order? And that wasn't counting the ones that were destroyed and had to be replaced ...

Goaded by his growling belly, Allen dared to try the hallways in search of the Cafeteria.

This place was different from the last HQ too, the hallways were narrower, and there were less stairs to be transversed. But, to the dismay of all those directionally-challenged, it was a lot more like a maze.

Though there was_ one _up side for looking for the Cafeteria specifically, you could follow your nose if you got close enough ...

So, Allen was trying to do just that. Curiously sniffing here and there, eyes partially closed and golden golem on his head like some sort of religious hat ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Link was amazed.

And tired.

The Inspector had left the blue dragon to help himself to the Library, after sitting up almost all night helping Luke to understand some of the bigger words. But, once they had found a dictionary, the dragon hadn't needed much help, and Link found himself with two choices.

Breakfast, or Bed.

The Inspector had gone nights without sleep before, but not in a long while. And the same could be said about food deprivation.

While pondering, Link noticed that someone else was walking in the direction of the Cafeteria, sniffing his way forward. Howard sighed tiredly, and asked Walker just what he was doing.

The Exorcist jumped, having not noticed Link, having been so engrossed in looking for food before.

The Inspector narrowed his eyes when he saw the dreaded golden golem on the teen's head.

There was a moment of silence.

"Um ... hi?" Allen tried.

"Mh." Link acknowledged. He didn't want to use too many full words or sentences after a night of explaining them to a small undergrown blue dragon.

"Are you going to get some Breakfast too?" The teen asked, sounding a bit hopeful. If the Inspector guided him to the Cafeteria, he wouldn't have to follow his nose the whole way.

Link noted the Exorcist's slightly desperate look, and elected to have Breakfast before bed. So, off the two (plus golem) went.

**//DRDRDR//**

Arystar Krory the Third sneezed.

Rubbing carefully at his nose, the pale man sniffed, and surveyed his Breakfast. The mound of scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes, and bacon would have looked impossible to eat to any normal person, but, then again, Krory wasn't exactly 'normal,' now was he?

Krory had the table (and most of the Cafeteria) to himself, because of the early hour that he was there. And, possibly because of the overcast skies outside, as dreary mornings tended to encourage people to sleep in.

Well, most people, naming the ones without Parasitic Type Innocence that demanded to be fed.

The pale man was slightly nervous. Maybe it was because of the dazed looking man with messy brown hair eating all of Krory's pancakes ...

But, one voice echoing in the large mostly-empty room caused both eaters to turn towards the source. "Krory!"

The named man smiled, and offered the seat next to him to Allen as the boy walked up. Link glared at the Crazy eating pancakes before sitting next to Lewis.

Allen also noticed Lewis, _alone _and _unsupervised_, and the boy asked Krory if he had seen Toma in a slightly confused tone.

After a bit of conversing, and eating, it was gathered that Lewis had come into the Cafeteria without anyone, even though Link had seen the Crazy leave the Library in the company of the Finder earlier.

Strange. Where had Toma gone?

Lewis just ate Krory's pancakes and stared blankly ahead.

So the four ate their Breakfast, wondering about quite a few strange things and whether or not to try to question the Crazy on the whereabouts of the Finder, when they all turned to see the very Finder they had been wondering about stumble in, a man in a lab coat being pulled in behind him.

"I left him in his room--" Toma was saying, "--he couldn't have wandered far--" It was obvious who the Finder was talking about, especially when Toma pointed Lewis out. "--see? He's the one with brown hair ..."

The two joined the group, and the tired and Quiet looking Scientist began looking Lewis over. The Crazy didn't object, not even when pulled away from his pancakes, and just sat docilely while the Scientist carefully took his temperature, pressing his hand against the Crazy's forehead.

"Yes ..." The Scientist told Toma and the curious group Quietly. "The man does have a fever, though he probably isn't too sick if his appetite isn't affected." The Scientist then turned formally to address the group. "Now, as I was asking this Finder, have any of you seen a green dragon anywhere about ... ?"

Allen, after swallowing (as nothing short of a full-scale attack could get the Exorcist to stop eating when hungry), asked: "Why are you looking for Gremlin?"

The Scientist covered a yawn, looking just as tired as Link did, and twice as rumpled. "Well, the creature walked in on an important experiment ... it almost caused my coworker to cut an artery accidentally when it popped up unexpectedly ... and, as it seems this isn't the first such occurrence involving the dragon and damage ... well, you see ..." The Scientist looked sheepish. "It has been ordered that the creature must be confined until ... the bad habits can be trained out ..."

Lewis, now not being looked over, was about to go back to eating, but elected to stare at Krory and Allen instead, apparently fascinated by the two Exorcists.

Everyone else was silent, absorbing the information. Though Link already knew what the Scientist was asking, the Inspector still seemed suspicious of what was truly intended.

Krory looked slightly confused. "What is an artery, exactly?"

"A vein." Was the Quiet answer. "If it had been cut, the experimental subject could have bled to death within moments."

The pale Exorcist chew thoughtfully for a moment. "Just what sort of experiment involves arteries?"

"..." That was a good question.

Lewis blinked slowly, still staring. Krory and Allen were a little creeped out ... but only a little. Lewis may have been one kind of Crazy, but Noahs and akumas were at least a thousand times worse, and the two Exorcists had faced both.

"The experiment we were working on is classified, I'm afraid ..." The Quiet man turned back to Toma, nullifying any further questions. "I'll go get some medicine for ... Lewis' fever. Wait here please ..."

The Scientist scurried away without looking back.

**//DRDRDR//**

Gremlin grumbled, very displeased with his situation. Sure, the dragon had technically brought all of this down upon himself (and inconvenienced several others in the process) but Gremlin ignored that little fragment of a fact.

All the green cared about was the fact that the Mean People were doing Wrong, and no other human was putting their Wrongs back into the Right. And, the dragon really wished that he had gathered some softer shiny things earlier, as he now had to hide himself with his horde in Komui's sleeping room ...

**//DRDRDR//**

The Quiet Scientist sighed to himself. Why did it have to happen this way ... and so dramatically too? He had known that sounding the alarm after seeing the green gapping at him while working would cause a ruckus ... but not like this.

At least three, _three_, Crow agents were patrolling the halls now, carefully searching for the dragon and armed with the means to capture it.

The Quiet man knew the method of capture for the beast would be non-fatal ... but that was all. The scientist shivered, counting his sins one by one. After having the chance to speak to the black beast, it was only now horribly apparent just how smart, even sentinel, these things were.

The blue they had been given before had been different from the other creatures of Innocence, the Quiet Scientist realized. It had been covered in softer scales, and was far less violent, even when being hurt. And it had never spoken once, before or after they cut out the largest and softest part they could find: it's tongue.

All of them were different, though the Quiet man believed that only those that were close to the creatures would notice just how greatly they differed.. Each had a unique personality and color, and specific abilities.

The Quiet man was beginning to wonder if there was a reason for each and every one of them, down the the 'useless' runts, and that they would all have to be used in their own way, in the End ...

He grabbed the fever medicine when he found it, and ran back without bothering to even greet the nurses station for the early morning shift.

What the Finder had said confused him even more-so. So far, the living Innocence had shown preference to those already 'chosen by God,' the Exorcists. Though, the Supervisor had been the one exception, and his creature had turned out to be small and bothersome, giving the limited facts as they were evidence to point to inferiority.

But ... Lewis was neither an important member of the Order, or even in his right mind, but had a living 'weapon' that functioned perfectly well, being that the dragon was both large and eager to fight.

Why had the crazy man been chosen? The Quiet man then rebuked himself for having such stupid thoughts. Innocence didn't chose according to reason ... it Chosen according to ... well, something else.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen swallowed his last bite, trying not to look across the table where the Crazy was staring at him over his mound of now-empty dishes. Krory was talking to Toma, obviously glad to be ignored by Lewis, and Link was staring at something with a blank look--

Wait.

The Exorcists did a double take. Link, strict Inspector who always payed attention to everything, was day-dreaming?

Allen blinked, putting his eating utensils down and letting Timcampy lick the plate free of any stray crumbs or sauces.

... Weird. Allen thought that the Inspector was only like that when getting up in the morning, or when he was tired.

And, Lewis was still staring at him. The snow-haired Exorcist rose, gathering his plates to bring them to the to-be-washed pile, when the Crazy broke his stare abruptly, and placed his head onto the table with a dull _thunk_.

Conversation stopped and heads turned at the echoing sound.

"Sir Lewis," Toma asked, walking around the side of the table and over to his charge. "Are you alright?"

The Crazy didn't speak, or move.

Toma put a had on the man's shoulder, and shook gently.

Link watched with a look that said he had other, higher, concerns on his mind at the moment, while Krory seemed concerned and Allen stayed standing.

Toma checked the young man's temperature at the back of his neck, and sighed. "Sir Lewis' condition seems to be worsening ..." The Finder noted.

The Scientist/doctor came running in then, as if knowing speed was needed. The Quiet man quickly assessed the situation and popped out two pills from the bottle he had brought.

Allen, knowing water would be needed to swallow the pills down properly and already standing, quickly went off to get a glass.

Both Toma and the Quiet Scientist tried coaxing Lewis to sit up.

The Crazy didn't even acknowledge their presence.

The Quiet man sighed, thinking. "He does not respond to his name much."

"No." Toma agreed, shaking his half-bandaged head sadly. "Sir Lewis does not."

"Does he respond to other things?"

The Finder thought for a moment. "Pancakes?" Toma tried. No good.

Next. "Larg?" There was a faint movement that could have been nothing more than the Crazy breathing.

Allen got back, and brought the water to Toma. The Finder excepted the glass with a 'thank-you,' and turned to put it down only to find Lewis upright in an almost erect pose, staring at Allen again.

The Quiet Scientist jumped on the opportunity and handed Walker both the medicine and water. "Lewis obviously likes you--" The man explained Quietly, somehow overriding Allen's slightly louder protests. "--just try to get him to take the medicine. Please."

The Exorcist sighed, but with several encouraging glances from the others (mostly Krory, who looked like he was only here now as to not abandon Allen to the task, and Toma, who really wanted Sir Lewis to be alright, Crazy or not), got closer to Lewis with the pills in hand.

Now ... onto the important question ... how to get Lewis to take the pills?

Allen offered the young man staring intently at his face the two pills in his hand. Lewis didn't take his eyes from Allen's face.

The Exorcist swallowed nervously, and slowly waved the pills in Lewis's line of vision.

The Crazy blinked, wide eyes drooping slightly.

Allen slowly held out he hand with the medicine, still within the young man's line of sight. Lewis was now staring at the pills, looking curious.

The Exorcist held the medicine still closer, and the Crazy took them in hand, head cocked.

Allen mimed gulping down the pills, bringing his hand to his mouth and swallowing as if he still had the medicine.

Lewis blinked, then copied the action, only with the actual pills. Allen quickly anded the Crazy the water, surprised his ploy had actually worked.

The ragged skeleton drank down the liquid, much to the satisfaction of the Quiet man. "I told you he liked you." The Scientist said, giving Toma the rest of the medicine, just in case the fever didn't go down right away. "I think it might be because of that particular scar you have on your face ..." He added, still Quiet.

Allen blinked, tracing his curse with hesitant fingers.

Lewis giggled a bit, still watching Allen, and mimed that action too. "ReeEd." The Crazy man said.

**//DRDRDR//**

The guard was nervous.

The Crow was furious.

The dragon the size of a large dog ignored them both, and walked down the hall as if it owned the place.

"We were looking for a _green_ dragon--" The guard objected.

"And we are to ignore _this_ beast parading about the halls?" The Crow hissed, pulling out some sort of talisman from its sleeve.

"Well no, but--" The guard bumbled out, truly hoping the Crow wouldn't agitate the creature that looked like it could slaughter them both ...

But, before the Crow could even begin to use his tools and while he was snapping at the guard, the purple tail of the thing they were following whipped out and knocked the masked man, hard, upside the head, causing the annoyed sorcerer to fall to the floor before he even realized what had happened to him.

The guard gawked at the twin grinning heads, and ran.

One of the horned heads laughed, and the other sniffed, searching for what had woken him/them up.

The two shook their wingless body and yawned, walking on. They were sleepy after devouring several cold tons of meat they had found, but wanted to find the Chosen they felt nearby before finding a place to sleep.

It wasn't every day a violet dragon got to walk around a world they hadn't been awake to see in seven-thousand years, and this one (two?) wanted to enjoy itself.

Before its nap, anyway ...

**//DRDRDR//**

Gremlin growled softly, squeezing himself in ways the dragon did not normally want to be squeezed. The green was widening out his 'lair,' and making more tunnels.

The goal for today was to get all the way to Brother's Office, so that he could come and go from the two room's more easily, without having to hide in Brother's hat the whole time.

Of course, the problem with that plan was that Gremlin had to erode the wall plaster and brick without making it seem that the walls were actually damaged, and that could be tricky, especially without knowing exactly where the wall met hallway, or another wall.

Now, Gremlin wondered to himself, huffing. Was the next foot or space in front of him a solid wall, or air ...?

**//DRDRDR//**

Krory walked the quiet hallway by himself, having left the others to escort Lewis to a room where the Crazy youth could sleep off the fever.

The pale man, himself, was not feeling quite right. Ever sense learning his new 'ability' with his Innocence involving him completely leaving his body, he had felt ... strange. Like his skin was just an impediment, or a thin wrapping for his blood. As if his blood was now more comfortable _outside _of his skin instead of _inside_ it.

The pale man shivered, and rubbed at his arms.

Each heartbeat was felt clearly as blood was circulated, and tingled with oxygen as it spread to the designated parts of the body, making him feel strangely ... aware of himself.

The only time the feeling changed was when he had fought akuma ... then his teeth ached, his blood itched, and his heart pounded.

Krory sighed, then stopped. He stayed carefully still, listening.

_What is that?_ Arystar wondered, focusing on the strange sounds he heard. It sounds like someone walking ... and dragging something?

"He was here!" One voice exclaimed loudly and closely, making the Exorcist flinch. "He was, he was, he was!"

A sigh was heard, and Krory blinked, realizing the two voices must be coming from just around the next corner. "He was, or he _is_, more Exuberant Me?"

"Was." The second voice answered. "I never forget what was, never never never, O more Reserved Me."

And then they ... it, walked around the corner, and Krory gapped.

Wow. Don't see that every day.

Two heads stared at him from one purple and scaled body, one grinning and the other just smiling.

"See?" The grinning one asked the smiling head.

"See." The smiling dragon head nodded. "Now, I believe people greet one another with, 'good day,' so 'good day' to you, O Sir that we Choose."

Both heads bowed, giving Arystar a good view of their violet horns and smooth scaly back, bare of wings. The heads rose, and the Exorcist realized that the creature wasn't very large, and both heads only came up to his mid-abdomen.

"So," The grinning head said, "We went to a room then."

"..." Krory was still not exactly sure on how to respond to speaking to him, purple, two-headed, or otherwise.

The smiling head nudged the grinning one. "Please stop speaking nonsense, it does not become you to confuse the one we Choose, you know."

The grinner laughed. "I _knew_."

The smiler rolled his eyes. "Know?"

"Knew!"

Krory sighed, and both heads swiveled to him again.

"I think we--" "--confused him?" The two seemed to be running thoughts and sentences together at the same time, and they stared a look. "Really?--" "--Yes, really!"

"Well, yes." Arystar told the two ... one ... two? "I do find you two a bit ... confusing."

The two nodded in unison. "Well, maybe we can--" "--get something too eat--" "--soon?"

Krory, after looking between to two heads as each spoke, was feeling more frazzled by the minuet, gulped.

The two heads noted how pale the man was. "Oh, well maybe--" "--later then?"

The Exorcist just nodded, and beckoned the two ... one ... gah, _two_, to follow him to the Supervisor's Office to notify Komui that there was now one more dragon in residence.

**END 21.  
**

**AN**: Well. Back to the 'main' characters again. I like writing Allen, he's a very modifiable character. Link, too has an interesting personality, but Krory ... man, I don't know why, but he's a bit hard for me to write, though he was easier (slightly) this time around ... Hmm, my chapters are getting shorter ... maybe that's because the plot is more straightforward at this point in time, and I'm trying to limit the number of characters in scenes.

Though, the dragons just keep multiplying ... I can't help myself.

Oh well, I'll have to send them out on missions soon anyway, might as well enjoy the times I get to put all of my little hatchlings together ... (Komui: _Little_? They're eating us out of house and paycheck you horrible person!)

Now, if only I had a name for this new two-headed purple thing ... things ... one, two? Suggestions/comments?

See you all 4-27-09 everyone!

-knux33


	22. A bit of Truth

**22. A bit of Truth**

"What's wrong with him now?" Was what Link sighed, surprising Allen by the fact that he didn't snap.

Toma leaned over Lewis, who was now half-asleep on the ground. "I think," The Finder said, looking over the instructions on the bottle of medicine he had, "That the fever medicine has just started working, that is all."

"OooOoo ..." The Crazy moaned quietly. "D-d-d-diiizyy ..."

"It is alright Sir Lewis," Toma was reassuring the young man like he would a child. "Just close your eyes, it will be alright."

Lewis had one of his 'I'm actually listening to my name' moments, and curled into a ball on the ground. Toma sighed, then looked beseechingly to Allen and Link. "If one of you could possibly help me carry--"

"We'll carry him, and you lead us to where we can put him down." Allen said, glancing at Howard to see if the Inspector was either going to help or refuse.

Toma bowed his head gratefully, and got out of the two's way.

Allen reached down to get Lewis's front, but Link waved the Exorcist away, mumbling that he could carry the bag of bones by himself.

Timcampy circled the four like an over-fed canary as Allen protested, claiming that it would be easier if the both of them shared the weight.

Toma looked from one to the other, and then to Lewis. "Sirs," The Finder sighed. "Maybe it would be best if I just take Sir Lewis to his bed myself--"

Allen and Link quarreled like they hadn't heard the man, which they probably didn't, and Allen grabbed the half-asleep Crazy's shoulders and Link held onto the feet, and the two simply began carrying the young man while still arguing.

Toma found it quite fascinating while he led the strange procession, and constantly looked back to watch Allen argue the good points of having two people work together and Link argue the fine points of just one person carrying something right back.

This arrangement probably only worked because Howard was half-asleep himself, but they got to the room Komui had assigned Lewis and Toma to, and deposited the quietly mumbling Crazy onto the bed.

"Thank-you both--" Toma told the two, still arguing, though now about what Link had been doing. Allen had noticed the Inspector's sleepy state and was now trying to pry into why Howard was that way, but the Inspector didn't seem to want to give any information and--

The two were out of the room and gone, and Toma was quickly getting ready to settle down for a nap, his charge out cold on top of his bed, looking far more sane when sleeping.

**//DRDRDR//**

"We ate." The left head said.

"No, we want to eat, soon please." The right head argued.

"Ate."

"Want to eat."

"Ate."

Komui blinked, Secretary hovering over his shoulder, and Krory standing off to one side.

"We want to eat," The right head insisted. "We have not eaten ... not unless you count the cold stuff we found downstairs and fish we ate ..." The head drawled.

"You ate fish?" Komui probed.

"Yes, yes," The right head addressed the Supervisor, purple body sprawled out on the Office carpet. "My egg was kept where there was water. It is only natural we eat a bit. Swimming does tend to make I hungry."

"I?" The Secretary said in a disapproving tone, disliking the incorrect use of grammar. Gee, no wonder she didn't like Gremlin ...

"_Yes, I"_ Both head said simultaneously, somehow sounding more like one than two.

The Secretary became silent.

"And ... you 'like' Arystar, am I correct?" Komui asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Yep--" "--I do." The left and right said in a sequence.

The purple dragon ... was one of strangest ones so far, hands down. Komui quickly shooed the dragon and Krory away, telling the Exorcist to feed the beast, and make sure they didn't eat anything they weren't supposed to.

Krory was still reeling from the fact that the creature was attached to him, and led the violet dog-sized thing to the Cafeteria he had just recently left. There were more people there now, and most of them stared quite openly at the stranger-than-normal dragon and Exorcist as Krory introduced the violet to Jerry.

The cook was very enthusiastic, surprisingly not bothered by the strange creature, and asked what the two (one?) wanted.

"We had--" The left began, but the right head interrupted the ramblings of its other 'half' with a request for organs. Hearts were specifically asked for with much jaw-licking.

Jerry shrugged while Krory stared and became a degree paler.

"Hearts--" "--and other slimy things--" "--are--" "--very good--" "--for our health." The two conversed with the Head Cook while another was looking for the requested meal. "And--" "--cakes would--" "--also be very good." There was more licking and talk of just how good cakes were.

Jerry had some cakes on hand, and gave each head one to nibble on while waiting for their ... main coarse.

The twin exclamations of joy over the newfound taste sensation of the sugary icing and jelly-filled cakes were enough the make several heads turn, and look a little less frightened of the purple 'monster.'

The two heads were asking form more cakes simultaneously, but not in unison, chattering at Jerry with their purple tail wagging back and forth like a whip.

"More--" "--cake, cake, then!--" "--please!" "Please!"

Krory tugged at his lock of white hair thoughtfully. Maybe if the dragon was simple enough to like cakes, he would eventually be able to partially understand the confusing thing that reminded him of a spoiled set of children ...

And besides, purple had been Eliade's favorite color ...

**//DRDRDR//**

"Um ..."

'_Snooooore' _The red dragon ... snored.

"Excuse--" Smudge tried again.

Larg snorted in his sleep, and turned over, massive red body making squishing sounds in the mud as it moved.

Smudge sighed. If any kind of dragon had the right to be called a 'beast,' it was the reds. "Larg," The black said quite seriously to the dragon that was passed out in the mud. "If you do not get up right now I shall go off and leave you here to drown in this ... _glup_."

"Ooo ..." The red groaned, finally waking up, and sounding surprisingly like the Crazy he had Chosen. "Not so loud ..."

Smudge blinked. He hadn't been talking _that_ loudly, had he? "I am sorry--" The black began in a whisper.

"Shhshh!" The red waved a paw in the black's direction to add emphasis to his hissing, and covered his eyes with his other forelimb. "Just _stop talking _... please."

Smudge was confused. The red seemed to be in pain.

Larg groaned again, sitting up on his haunches. "Damned hangover ..." The beast grumbled to himself, head in his clawed hands.

Now Smudge was _curious_, and that meant ignoring the request to be quiet. "Larg ... what is a 'hangover?'"

The red grumbled, but answered: "It is when one's brain feels too big for one's head, and one's stomach is revolting at being inside one's body, and everything is too bright, and too loud, and _stop talking_."

Smudge sighed again, and contemplated the meaning of 'hangover.'

"How does one get a hangover?" Smudge asked, only to have the red glare at him.

"_Drinking_ causes one to get a hangover."

Smudge calculated this. "Drinking alcohol?"

"_Yes_. Drinking alcohol and beer and wine and rum and whiskey." Larg groaned. "You don't suppose some of those little people could get me some more, could they?"

"You are in pain," Smudge asked in disbelief. "And you want more of the stuff that causes you this pain?"

"Hell _yes_." The red exclaimed, then groaned again.

Smudge thought more, and came to the conclusion that reds were simply more beastly than anything else he knew. What other explanation could truly explain the willingness to have pain like that for only a few moments of 'loose-ness?'

But, it was at that time that three shadows converged on the spot, and three dragons landed in the mud with varying sounds of 'squish,' one smallish gray sliding on the mud with a laugh.

The orange held her head high, looking almost imperial, and glared down at the black and red covered in brown slimy mud. (The two had been sleeping outside all night after all, before and after the rain that made all of the muck.)

"And why did you not come back last night?" Ammy asked loftily, after looking the black over and determining that Smudge had not been wounded beyond the ability of flight. The orange would have probably like it of the red was good and gone by now ...

"Well, Larg had some alcohol (several barrels actually ...) and could not fly after--" The black began carefully, but the yellow Sunny laughed before he could finish.

"He was _drunk_?!" Sunny guffawed, apparently familiar with alcoholic substances.

Smudge nodded, confused. "Yes. And how do you know about--?"

The yellow waved the question away. "When you all were complaining about being _bored_ on the ship, _I_ was looking and listening, and the Sailing Humans have a very great knowledge of such things. Along with 'whores' ..." Sunny thought for a moment. "But I still haven't figured out what 'whores' are yet ..."

Larg seemed to stifle a snort, and groaned at the way his head jerked, but somehow laughed too.

Speck was playing in the mud, ad didn't really care for such conversation. _He_ knew what the terms meant, because Allen and Not-Allen knew the words.

He had had much time to look through what Allen and Not-Allen knew, being as there was nothing else to do on a crowded rooftop.

So the gray was muddling in the dirt and grit quite happily as the hung-over red explained to a slack-jawed audience just what 'whores' were.

Humans were such _strange_ little things. And slightly ... disgusting at times.

The group looked sick when it was explained just how male and female humans mated. Speck just giggled with his mud pies, wondering why everything and everyone seemed to want to know so much, until they actually knew it.

Then, the things and ones would digress into speaking blissfully about the good old days, when they knew nothing at all ...

Speck prided himself on knowing absolutely everything, and absolutely nothing, all at the same time.

Some grays were like that.

**//DRDRDR//**

Luke '_mm_'-ed to himself, closing his tenth, finished, novel. The '_mm_' turned into a simply hummed tune. No one was in the library with him, and the blue was happy that way.

_So much _... The little blue dragon thought to himself, putting the novel back into place with considerable effort on his part. The book was heavier than he was. _So much to learn. So much to read. So much to do._

What first?

Luke smiled, _blend_ing.

Chosen was not here, and not been here for a so-so amount of time. He would go find Chosen.

The blue wiggled the doorknob of the Library's entrance, and slipped out. No one was there to see the door open and close by itself, and the blue flapped though the hallways, glad that the People liked to build the ceilings a good distance above their heads; the blue could easily breeze over anyone walking around.

There were no Monsters the blue could see, and the dragon sighed in relief. Now, if only it could stay that way.

The dragon sailed passed a few Finders talking amongst themselves, and the dragon noted that they were talking about other dragons. A red and a black. The blue slowed, sailing around in a lazy U-turn.

This was interesting.

Luke had seen a green, but hadn't thought much of it. A green would be as hard pressed as he to escape People and Monsters, smaller wingspan meant less traveling ability. But reds and blacks ... most of those were big, and world-travelers.

Wait ... the two had been fighting? Luke, unable to fly at the slow speed the men in white were walking, landed invisibly and silently on the floor and followed them, as well as their conversation.

_Ah _... Luke realized after the lack of major wounds had been described. _A dominance battle_. Luke knew about those, and sighed. He wished he had been able to watch ... sometimes red battles were interesting. And blacks were known for being smart and quick.

When the blue gathered all he thought interesting from the Finder's conversation, he took to the air again, and made his way through the halls.

The dragon knew by looking what direction his Chosen was in, but it was hard to chose the right hallways to go down ...

Until he heard Link's voice, and made a beeline for it.

"Walker--" Luke heard his Chosen speak, detecting a note of annoyance.

"Mhm?" A muffled voice answered.

" ... What do you think you are doing?" At that point, the blue had gotten the two in his sight, one familiar, and one a stranger.

"I'm trying--" Luke could not see most of the strange human, as he had his head and one arm stuck in a largish hole in the wall. "--to get Tim."

The blue dragon landed on his Chosen's shoulder, careful not to unbalance the Inspector. The unexpected weight made Howard only pause for a moment before saying gruffly: "I don't see the point in attempting something so ..." The blond inspected the size of the hole in comparison to Allen's shoulder length. Allen was bigger. "... obviously doomed to failure."

The stranger pulled himself out, and Luke gawked at the foreign hair coloring, red scar, and blackened arm. The cool gray eyes seemed surprisingly soft to the blue dragon, and Luke imitatively approved of his Chosen having such company, no matter how strange it looked.

Allen shrugged, dusting some plaster off of his hair and shoulders. "Well, there's no waste in trying--"

"Actually, there is." Link curtly informed him, and Luke fought back the urge to sigh. His Chosen seemed ... stiff, right now. The blue wondered why; this white-furred human was nice.  
The Exorcist rolled his eyes, but seemed to take the comment in stride.

The two began walking away from the hole/tunnel that looked like it had been melted into the wall.

Luke noticed, looking curiously at the 'Allen' person, that the boy was younger than Link, but no less ... no less ...

The blue pondered, knowing he had read the word.

It described what both Link and Allen had ... and Luke knew he had it too ...

Dedication? Loyalty? Yes, they had those things, and no, it was not what Luke was thinking of ... what had the word been?

Luke '_mm_'-ed when he realized what the word he had been mentally looking for was. Faith. Faithfulness. Yes. Right word.

The Allen was looking at Howard with a curious look on his face. "Did you just _hum_?" The Exorcist asked, sounding supremely surprised.

Luke blinked. Oops. The dragon had forgotten that just because he wasn't seen, it didn't mean he wasn't _heard_.

Howard glared at Allen, and firmly stated that the Exorcist was hearing things. Luke made a note to apologize for the slip-up later, and looked around to see where they were going.

Hmm. They were near where the place the Monsters had been trying to capture the green before, where there were all of those tired people continually groaning and growling about something.

Luke stretched his head, looking everywhere he could without falling off of his Chosen. The humans he saw did not scare him, he did not recognize them as Monsters. He only gazed at them nervously as they went by.

Until he personally decided a human as an individual was not a bad person, like the 'Allen' that was with his Howard, they were all potentially Monsters.

Unseen, the blue spied, and made his own silent judgments on the world that had welcomed him by cadging him, cutting deeply into him, and carving away more than just his tongue.

**//DRDRDR//**

The Quiet man sighed, and as the Supervisor glared at him beneath his beret, began explaining the finer points of what they were trying to do in the labs beneath his feet.

"We have made great progress ... most of the latest subjects are living, and thriving. My theory is because the latest samples were from the larger beasts you see ... superior flesh."

"What we've so far observed," The other scientist said Loudly, as the both of them faced the Supervisor from across his desk within his office. "Is that the parts we replace with the tissue are vastly improving in heath, and spreading to the rest of the host body, beginning to transform it."

Komui had ordered this meeting to take place, to get to the bottom of everything. Well, it seemed the bottom was actually rooted to the top.

As the Supervisor had guessed before, people far higher than him were requesting these experiments take place. And, as he had told the distraught green, there was nothing he could do.

Grinding his teeth silently, the Supervisor listened as the two in front of him continued with their report.

"We ... don't know what the bodies are morphing into ..." The Quiet man said, looking from his feet to the rug. "But, one particular subject has shown great ..." Komui sensed hesitation in the man's Quiet voice. "... potential."

"The subject has lost a majority of both it's skin, and has formed a harder substance to replace the lost tissue!" The Loud man proclaimed proudly, and Komui thought he might be sick.

_It_? Couldn't the Scientist at least have the dignity to refer to the 'it' as a man or woman?

The quiet man looked as green as the Supervisor felt, and Komui was glad that at least one of the two had a heart. "He, the subject, has also shown signs of shifting his basic body shape as well ..."

The Loud man was exuberant. "The thing looks like a _snake_! The front jaws are yea big--" His hands spread apart, at least a foot across, showing the size of the subject's head. "--when closed, and it's teeth are the size of _toes_!"

The Quiet man swallowed and added, "The ... subject, had been introduced to both black and red flesh. Blue blood was added, too--"

Komui blinked, confused for a moment. "Blue?"

The two Scientists looked at one another, the Loud angrily, and the Quiet dully. "Our .. first subject."

Komui was not stupid, nor did he have the patience the dance the information out of the two. With Bridgett standing quietly in her corner, looking rebukingly at the two, the Supervisor ordered that they give a full explanation. Immediately.

Gremlin, after eroding walls for most of the day (and creating quite a few extra holes in some places), curled up in silent contentment just behind the still-solid wall behind Brother's bookshelf, listening with a fat-ish golden ball that seemed intent on being their too.

Spying? Yes.

Are they going to spread the information as fast as a green lizard and golem with a sound recording can? Yes.

Is all hell going to break loose?

Hell yes.

**END 22. A bit of Truth**

**AN:** Gah ... the shortness ... whyyyyy ... (hates leaving people with short(er) chapters)

Sorry if thing seems a little spread-out, but I'm trying to focus on one thing at a time, and slowly spread to different things as certain parts of the plot 'end.'

**Thanks on the suggestions for the purple's name/name's!** (One, two? He? Yeah, he.) I think I've got something good for their name now ...

Now, guess how many chapters this story was originally planed to have? THIRTEEN people! 13! XD

This story has officially eaten my soul. Now, if I could only work harder and FINISH it sometime before Gremlin eats all of my candy ... oh, too late.

See you all ... maybe next Monday(or Sunday. I seem to be able to prof-read faster than usual...). Maybe ...

One final thing: **REVIEW PLEASE**. It will help me get over the fact that D Gray is on hiatus again ... (sob). Plus, you all can **tell me who you want to see more of**. Because ... I have made far too many characters ... but I luvs them ALL. So ... comments, criticism (even FLAMES) are wanted. Because I KNOW I can probably improve on my writing ...

-knux33


	23. Messing with things

**23. Messing with things**

"Yuu-chaaan ..." Lavi stopped to ponder for a moment. He hadn't seen Kanda in at least a day, along with quite a few of the other Exorcists. He didn't think they had been sent out on missions yet, and they weren't in their rooms or the Cafeteria ...

The Junior Bookman snapped his fingers as a knew idea came to him. He hadn't looked in (or actually seen) the new training rooms yet.

Maybe they were there ...

Lavi paused again. Wherever 'there' was ... where were the training room again? This damned place was too much like on big, lavishly furnished, maze.

The red head sighed, scratching his head. He really had to ask one of the staff for a map or something. He wasn't even sure he could reliably find his way to the Library.

But, with a chuckle and quick readjustment of his new headband (Johnny had made him a new one, and the young Scientist had insisted that it looked better and was made of stronger material, so Lavi wore it) the to-be Bookman waltzed off, sure that he would find his way somewhere eventually.

After a bit of walking, Lavi scoffed at the walls, wondering just how much the Order had payed to have the place built. It apparently hadn't been enough, because he spotted at least two gapping holes in the woodwork before walking for more than a half-an-hour.

Coming upon a third hole, Lavi paused, and tried sticking his head in for a closer look. And, for his trouble, got hit in the face with something gold and semi-hard, followed quickly by something green, and he (predictably) fell as the two colliding forces destroyed his balance.

On the floor, Lavi contemplated two things: how curiosity killed the cat, and what the hell had just smashed into his face. By the chirpy voice, he guess the green thing had been Gremlin, and by the spherical area of pain on his forehead, he believed the golden object could only be Timcampy.

With a groan, Lavi sat up and looked at the two sitting on his chest. "Gremlin ... Tim." He greeted, rubbing at his right cheek, where his face hurt the most.

"Sorry Rabbit!" Gremlin squeaked, using the name Kanda had inadvertently taught him while laying over the top of Tim's head as if the golem were a couch. And, by size comparison, the golem was a perfect fit for the small dragon's upper torso. When had Timcampy gotten so big? "We a-going to seeseesee everybodys!"

Lavi blinked. "Uh-huh."

"Bye-bye!" The green chirped, flapping with the golem in the direction of the roof.

The Junior Bookman, rubbing at his sore spots, carefully picked himself up, debating.

Now, which would be more fun, following the golem and dragon to the roof, or continuing on his search for Yuu-chan ...?

**//DRDRDR//**

Larg glared at Smudge, annoyance clearly evident. The black was denying him beer. Sure, the black was Alpha, and the would listen to the order, but that didn't mean he wasn't allowed to whine and snarl and disagree with it.

So the red was. Loudly, while the group all basked in the sea just off of the Order's HQ, washing off the mud they had all accumulated. (There had also been a very large mud-fight after Ammy had insulted Larg yet again, but that was totally off point.)

Sunny, bobbing beneath the surface and back up again like a large yellow cork had just come back up with a fish flopping in her jaws, and swallowed with much enthusiasm. "I am beginning to see why you like fish so much." The yellow commented to the less-successful orange. "They just take a little while to get used too."

Smudge sighed, disagreeing silently. Fish were far too slimly to him to consider them edible.

The red snorted at the absurdity of it. He liked his meat red and raw and bleeding. Fish, being fish, didn't have nearly enough red blood to suite his raw tastes.

"I still do not know why I should not have my alcohol." The red grumbled, trying to scrub his shoulders with gentle paws. His scales were still growing back, and as much as he enjoyed blood, he didn't want to re-open the wounds.

"Because you will drink all that we have, and then you will have a monstrous headache, and them you will probably eat someone in your grumpiness." Smudge said quite calmly, an rightfully. If the alcohol consumption of the red wasn't checked, that probably _would _happen.

The red growled to himself, but became silent. The beast seemed to think for a moment. "Say ..." The dragon wondered. "Wherever has my Chosen gone?"

Ammy gapped at him. "Have you only just noticed that your little Crazy is missing?!" The 'queen' demanded and Smudge sighed, believing a fight was coming.

The red blinked at her. "Yes. He's usually somewhere or other nearby ..." The red looked about the sea. "Hmm." The dragon thought for a moment. "I don't suppose he could be out here ... I don't think he can swim ..."

The orange snorted. "Uncivilized beast."

The red glared back. The female was_ not _Alpha, and he could do and say as he wanted to her. "Fire-wench."

Ammy blinked, floating closer. Everyone else tried to float farther away from the two, not wanting to be caught up in the fight. "You have called me that before. I do not like being called names if they are not compliments, red."

Larg smiled a smile that was not a smile, showing his fangs. "Then by all means, fire-_brat_," The red rumbled. "Show me why I should listen to something as dull-colored as you."

Smudge groaned, Sunny watched, and Speck whined when the inferno was released, and red and orange wrestled in the sea, steam rising into the air like a mocking smoke signal.

A signal a green, far away on a rooftop saw. "Oh, there!" The small dragon exclaimed happily, pointing the steam rising out to Timcampy. "I gogogo there, yes?"

The golem nodded, and pointed down with it's tail.

"Yes, you tell Good-People here, and Me tell Big-Dragons there." Gremlin said seriously, knowing better than to try the halls now. "Good-luck Gold-Ball!"

Tim stared, immobile. _That _was not his name.

The dragon, confused tried again. "Umm, good-luck goldy-thingy?"

The golem showed its very large, very sharp, teeth.

Gremlin squawked, backing away and taking off: "Just gogogo Gold-wing!" And the dragon was off before Tim could bite him for not knowing his name.

The golem grumbled, but flapped off to the hole in the roof. He liked his name. No one else had it, only he did.

But, flying faster than the small green dragon could, the golem carried the message in it's belly to the intended recipients.

**//DRDRDR//**

The Quiet man contemplated the horrible things he had seen in his life as he and his companion made their way back down into the lower levels where they worked.

The Supervisor had been disgusted at what they were doing, that much was clear. The Quiet scientist agreed. Their work was disgusting.

And, getting to the door they kept the still-living experiments in, he let the Louder man open the door.

A rotting smell assaulted them, and the Loud one cursed, quickly going through the room to see which of the three current occupants had ... deteriorated.

The Quiet man hovered at the threshold, using a sleeve to cover his nose and trying not to be sick. He succeeded, but only just, and walked into the room as well.

The Loud man was glaring at the subject that had turned half-way into a green and jelly-like substance, while the rest was rotting human corpse.

The Quiet man identified it as one of the two females they had, feeling dizzy, and quickly lost the battle with his stomach, running to the small bathroom/sanitation area they had in conjunction to this room, and was Quietly and violently sick.

The Loud Scientist just rolled his eyes at his companion's soft stomach and got a bag to dispose of the failed experiments solid bits, and washed the rest of the thing that was once human down the drain they had in the center of the tiled room for just that occasion.

Soon, the room look just as clean as before, if a little wet, and still smelling of rotting flesh.

The Quiet man came back into the room, but only after he had heard the hose turn off ad he was sure that the last visible traces of the woman were gone.

The Loud man looked upon the Quiet one with disdain, silently mocking his partner's reluctance with the more ... 'hands-on' part of the job.

The Quiet Scientist sighed, looking at the now empty table/bed and greatly desiring a toothbrush and toothpaste. Sink water only went so far ...

He compared the vile taste in his mouth to his work down here in the dark, and found the two very similar. Both were even eating away at him in their own ways ... the bile at his teeth, and the scientific work at his conscience.

"Done?" Was the Loud question asked, and it was answered with a silent nod.

They both inspected the vitals and conditions of the remaining subjects. The living still lived, and the subject that had shown the most signs of transformation looked worse than ever. At least, 'worse' is the word the Quite Scientist would use.

The Loud Scientist smiled and crooned over the subject as a hound master would over a prized beast.

Maybe that was what the once-man would be now, the Quiet man contemplated. A Beast.

"I'm going to go over the numbers." Quietly, the words were said, and Quietly the man left. The other stayed, poking at the drugged experiment, an excitement shining in his eyes.

The Quiet man did not like that excitement. He just wanted to do what he was good at, which was calculated the rate of decay against the stability of the current subjects.

_Temperature_, The Quiet man thought. _Temperature has something to do with it. _

The last few subject to ... lose stability had shown a dramatic decrease in body temperature before ... falling apart.

_Why_, was still the question. And how to stop the decomposition was an answer greatly sought.

The Quiet man thought, walking into the 'work room' the two shared that was also connected to the room with ... the subjects.

Innocence was a strange thing, an enigma. It created and destroyed with no care for the laws scientist had spend much of the past few hundred years creating.

Energy was created. Size and space was warped. _Time_ could be reversed.

No wonder the substance was once called 'God's Crystal.' The Quiet man had read some of the Exorcists reports, and a few files on what some of the Innocence users could do, and had believed that those chosen people had more power than any other living thing.

Then, he had learned of the other opposing powers, and revised his thinking. Noah and akuma were just as strong, if not more so. Though, he still hoped Innocence would prove to be the strongest weapon, in the end ...

Since coming to the Order, his views of the world had been turned upside down more than once, and the most surprising thing so far was the concept of dragons.

'Living Innocence?' The thought had made him tremble when he first thought it. 'Surly,' he had thought, 'Innocence that lives must be nothing less than gods brought down to earth.'

But, upon seeing the blue subject, he had been disappointed. All his attempts at conversation with the dragon in the cage (because they had kept to creature in a cage covered in specially made wards to keep the thing from causing harm) had been met with silence.

It had been strangely disappointing to see something that was supposed to be so powerful be just as Quiet as he was, if not more so.

They had first cut off bits of it's skin, and taken blood samples, as the blue thing didn't even have a thick layer of scales to cover it in most places, just leathery skin.

After the initial testing (the weight, height, blood, and skin samples all documented) they began moving on to bigger things. The first item on the list was the tongue, one of the things they could remove without killing the specimen.

After that, the Quiet man knew, they probably would have taken the eyes. Maybe a limb to disect before moving on to ... everything else.

But, after the fist operation, the dragon had disappeared. Gone. Not even a scale left.

The Quiet man smiled. That had been when he decided that maybe these dragons (even the small ones) were somewhat god-like after all. That they didn't deserve to be treated like lad rats. Though he knew they still had their limitations.

Because, well ...

It was a simple thing to unlock a cage ...

And the man had hated to see such a small, fragile thing hurt so much ... especially when the experiments they had been doing had just been causing more pain.

Yes, it was a very simple thing, to unlock a cage.

**//DRDRDR//**

Lavi blinked, gazing from one end of the new training rooms to the other. Whoa. The place was big enough to fit a couple of dragons, if not all of the many now sparing in it.

Strolling along, the Junior Bookman looked about for familiar faces among the Finders.

Eventually, he did. So, with a wide grin, Lavi hailed the two he saw.

Lenalee turned and smiled, returning the greeting.

Kanda ignored the idiot.

The red head grinned at the silent samurai's back, jokingly calling out, "Aw, Yuu-chan! Is that anyway to greet your best friend?"

Lenalee laughed while Lavi grin only widened at Kanda's twitch and cold glare, before he deemed the rabbit too insignificant for any further attention and went back to quiet easily besting the Finder he was up against in a record amount of time.

The red head shook his head, but remained smiling. He would have then asked Lenalee where Krory and Miranda were, if a large golden golem hadn't slammed into his face. Again.  
For the second time in that day (within the same hour, actually) Lavi found himself on the ground with a spherical 'slap' mark on his cheek.

The golem landed on Lenalee's head as if nothing had happened, and swished it's tail back and fourth impatiently for the Exorcists to give him their full attention.  
And when they did, Tim opened his 'mouth,' and--

**//DRDRDR//**

Gremlin squawked frantically at the larger dragons, and what had once been an atmosphere of play and mock-battle turned to one of disbelief and shock--

**//DRDRDR//**

And a Crazy blinked, slowly realizing that wherever he was, it was nice.

Lewis carefully sat up, as if scared that whatever cloud he was laying on would disperse if he moved too fast.

In his mental state, he probably did think the bed must be some sort of unreal object by how soft it was. Lewis was not used to soft things. But, becoming even partially vertical made him dizzy, and he found that laying down would be a good idea.

Still too confused by the softness, the Crazy slid down on to the rug covered floor that was more reassuringly solid, and nice and cool.

Upon waking further with a yawn, Lewis was confused further by the world he saw. The colors were dull. Very dull. As if someone had taken a gray and mixed all of the world with it, muting the normally beautiful colors into unimportant shades.

The Crazy curled into the fetal position, trying to find something that didn't look dull. Something that looked bright. His eyes found a second bed that was occupied by Toma, a window with curtains drawn to keep the sunlight out, and more hollow color.

Lewis realized that there was no red in this room. He shivered and hugged his knees closer, back pressed against the wall. Where was the red?

A bit wobbly, the Crazy gained his feet.

Where was the red?

Like something not sure of it's feet or the Earth beneath them, Lewis kept one hand on the wall of balance and crept out of the redless room as quietly as death.

_Where ..._

The hallway colors were dead too.

_Where was ..._

People with curious glances weren't important. The Crazy was creeping over his deep end.

_Red?_

**//DRDRDR//**

"I don't see why your all so upset." Larg grumbled, the others still trying to absorb Gremlin's news. "Humans have done stupid things for as long as we have known them. This is just another blunder to add to the list of 'why-humans-are-considered-a-_devolved_-spices.'"

(AN: Look who's calling who devolved ...)

"They are young playing with what they do not understand." The orange disagreed with a snap. She was really coming to like her private 'get-rid-of-the-red-eventually' idea she had. "We will just have to correct them."

Gremlin whined from on top of Speck's head: "But Brother said he could not stop it! If Brother cannot, how can yous?"

Sunny sighed. "Well, we could tell them just what_ could _happen. That would be an awful thing to see ..."

Speck whined. "Do People not 'member what happen? It was _bad_; what happen."

Ammy snorted. "Not all things remember like grays, idiot. And that was a long time ago."

The group conversation paused, waiting for the black to comment.

Smudge thought, jaw tightened in concentration.

Larg snorted at them all, nose high. "Well, I am going to go find my crazy. You all can mumble and think all you like, but it gives _me_ a headache." With that the red lumbered upward, struggling at first to break free of the water before flapping away.

Smudge looked at the rest of them. "Well, we might as well find our Chosen as well."

Ammy snorted. "And why should we follow the example of a ... _beast_, like that?"

The black wasn't in the mood to argue. "We might as well try talking to the people before doing anything, and as we cannot fit inside and our Chosen can, I think it would be best to discuss whatever course of action we take (if we decide to act at all) with everyone."

Speck was smiling wildly, always happy at the thought of getting to see Allen, though Gremlin just grumbled. "If _Brother_ cannot do anything, then your peoples can't either."

The orange glared at the little green lizard. "My Servant is_ far_ more capable than your 'Brother,' bug."

Smudge groaned. Why was it always confrontation with the dragons? _Why_?

Couldn't they just learn to get along?

"I_ not _a _bug_, _baka_." Oh, yet another thing the Green learned from Kanda ...

Apparently, not.

**//DRDRDR//**

Lewis felt cold ... and then, he felt hot. He was sticky all over, and he looked around with wide, searching eyes, very akin to an owl searching for a mouse.

His brain was frying on a low heat, and thoughts were somehow processing with a little more speed. He had greater curiosity for the people walking by, as he was beginning to remember that they had red inside them. And he was looking for red.

Every other color was a dull, dead thing to his feverish eyes.

But, he was now where there were few people, so there was no one around for him to get red from ...

The Crazy started peaking his head into rooms, searching for red. For people. People had red. He wanted red.

There was a dull thought, as dead as the other colors, something about looking for something else, but then it was gone, for Lewis had finally found people.

Or, at least a person.

A person naked, on a table.

Lewis found that the lady-person was not moving much on the table, and crept closer. There was a not-person thing there too, on the table next to the lady-person, but the Crazy ignored it. He was here for red.

There were tubes going in and out of the lady-person everywhere, and Lewis poked curiously at them. When nothing red was found on or in them, he turned his owl-eyes back to the pale lady.

Dead blue veins stood out on her skin like a road map, showing where blood flowed.

Looking around more, the Crazy smiled when he found a sharp instrument close by. It was a small knife, usually called a scalpel by a professional, and professionally used.

For Lewis, it was just a way to get to the red.

The Crazy, with a smile, picked the tool up, and began highlighting the blue roads with a newly freed river of red ...

**END 23. Messing with things**

**AN:** OMG, is the plot line actually _going_ somewhere again?! Yay!

And the stupid people's experiments are being eliminated too! Double-yays!

Are the chapters being annoyingly short? ... to _me_ they are ...

Yes, Lewis is several kinds of Crazy, and that's why I luvs him ... now, if I could only make this fanfiction properly amazing for you people ... hmm, maybe I should add that dramatic scene soon ... or, at least within the next 4-5 chapters ... I really write too much junk ... but, the thing is, I like writing junk ... gaaaaaah.

Review please, it helps me feed the dragons ... and keep my energy up when writing this crazy monster ...

Back to homework for me ... Next chapter release: around the same time next week peeps.

See-ya'll!

-knux33


	24. Knowing Red

**24. Knowing Red**

Toma would have shouted. He would have cried. Maybe even raged a bit, but he was too busy to take into account his own emotions at the moment. He had lost the Crazy.

Again.

The Finder couldn't believe how easily Sir Lewis constantly slipped away, even when he was sick! But after running from the room to the Cafeteria and Library without sight or word of the Crazy, Toma was starting to panic.

Where had Lewis gone? Where would he have _wanted _to go?

The Finder had no idea, and was just about to get some of the other Finders to help him search, when he heard yelling. And a scream.

Toma was off and running in the direction of the sounds, sure that the Crazy was somehow in the middle of it all.

**//DRDRDR//**

He was.

"_You idiot_!" The Loud Scientist bellowed, having the smaller and more skeletal Crazy's shoulders in a vice-like grip and slamming the brown-haired young man into the wall with each curse and shout. "You _fool_! Do you _know _what you've _done_?"

There was a small crowd gathering, made entirely of Scientists and guards of the lower levels. They were curious to see something interesting happening after so long of working in the dull dark.

That was when someone screamed, realizing the Crazy was cover from head to toe in a fresh layer of--

Toma, the only Finder there, froze and gapped when he saw Sir Lewis' state.

--dripping, _soaking_--

But the Finder quickly overcame his revulsion and trying to get the Loud man's hands off of Lewis' neck.

--blood.

The Crazy didn't seem to notice when he was being strangled, or smashed against a wall. He had a small, content smile on his face. He had found red.

And painted himself with it.

"_How could you_!? _Why_?" The Loud man was practically screaming, his face a purplish red color.

"Sir--" Toma couldn't get the Scientist to let go, and looking imploringly to the guards staring at the scene. They got the message and quickly (as if to make up for being so idle before) pulled the raging Scientist off of the Crazy, though Lewis didn't seem to notice.

In fact, once he wasn't being throttled anymore, the Crazy just leaned against the wall and began inspecting the blood beginning to dry on his hands, like a child discovering its fingers covered in paint.

Toma quickly went to Lewis, intending to lead the young man to where he could clean off the blood, when the Finder noticed the bloody trail of shoe prints Lewis had made on the tile floor leading from a room off to the side.

And, from that room, a second Scientist emerged, also covered in red. The new arrival shook his head Quietly at the Loud man that was now restrained bodily. The Loud man howled and made fresh attempts at trying to get his hands free to choke the Crazy.

"You've _ruined_ them, _you monster_! _How__dare you_! How _dare_ you!" The Scientist's legs were kicking as he spat out the words and accusations, almost totally raving.

The Quiet Scientist just shook his head sadly yet again, and crept back into the room were the bloody trail came from, probably to clean up the mess, looking slightly sick at whatever sight he saw beyond the door.

Toma quickly grabbed Lewis by the arm and pulled him away from the crowd of curious and staring people, and lead the Crazy to the nearest bathroom.

Lewis allowed Toma to lead him, looking with great fascination at the red stains going from his neck to feet, and touching at the stained places with his free arm, as the Finder had the other one.

Toma tried to ignore the squeaking of the worn and bloody shoes on the tile as they finally found a restroom, and the Finder quickly found that there were only sinks and stalls within.

Toma sighed; he had been hoping to find a restroom with a shower, or at least a bath, but the sink water would just have to do. The man brought forward the arm he already hand and began to wash the grime off.

The blood was partially dried already, and was stubborn in coming off of the Crazy's skin. Toma sighed to himself and sadly believed that he would never be able to get Sir Lewis clean at this rate.

Looking over his shoulder at who the arm was attached too, Toma froze.

Lewis was licking his fingers clean, as if the liquid was a syrup, or a fruit juice, instead of blood. He had his owl eyes half-closed, as if savoring the taste.

The Finder just shivered and went back to washing the Crazy's other hand clean.

Lewis didn't care. He was tasting his red carefully, and found it wasn't what he was used to. Normally, red tasted like what another man might call wine. It would slide down his throat in sips and licks, and cool his brain when it felt strangely hot, like it did now.

But _this _red seemed like nothing more than water, cooling his throat and stomach, but not his mind.

The Crazy thought slowly and carefully. This was a red, yes, but not the red he wanted. Lewis continued licking his fingers clean, trying to use the mind he had, and seldom often worked with.

Where was the right red? His red?

The Crazy did not know where his red was ... but he wanted it.

**//DRDRDR//**

Larg landed on the roof, trying to remember the last time he had given his crazy a real drink. Too long. Growling at himself, he waited for the rest of the group to catch up.

One of them was likely to know how to summon a human to get his Chosen before the crazy went ... insane.

At least, the red hoped so. Otherwise ...

Larg smiled at the 'otherwise.' Otherwise, the walls would probably be painted red, and after that ...

Larg frowned at the 'after that.' After that ... well, after that would not be very good. Not at all.

**//DRDRDR//**

There were more people in Komui's office than the man could handle. More than_ Bridget_ could handle, and that was not good.

The two Scientists were back, blood staining both of them, though neither were hurt.

Three Exorcists were there (one of which was his little sister), demanding an explanation of some sort, Timcampy nestled on top of Lenalee's head.

The loudest were, by far, Lavi and the normally Louder Scientist. Komui was just glad that Kanda wasn't yelling either, or the walls would have surly been poorly fit to restrain all of the noise. Both of the talkers were near shouting as they both tried to speak louder than the other, and Komui had had enough.

The Supervisor slammed both hands on his desk, and was rewarded with a moment of silence from the surprised people crowded around his office.

"_One at a time please_." Komui told the group slowly, but with authority. He nodded at the Quiet Scientist with blood on his hands and shirt to start first.

Several others (namely Lavi and the Loud man) Looked like they wanted to object, but remained silent and waited for their turn.

"All of our specimens are no longer living." Quietly, the man broke into the silence, shocking the Exorcists, who had been ignoring what the Loud man had been shouting for the most part. "They were ... cut open, and quickly bled to death. One Finder and three guards have the young man who cut the subjects open confined to his room."

Komui sat silently for a moment. "Who?"

"The Finder referred to the man as 'Sir Lewis.'"

It was at this point that two more tried to get into the room, and found it full.

One of the two, which most of the room knew by his shockingly white hair alone, blinked as he heard the familiar name. "What did Lewis do?" Allen Walker asked, followed by the stiff and always smart-looking Howard Link.

Of course, there was a third new arrival, but no one knew that little fact besides the one that had the invisible lizard on his shoulder.

**//DRDRDR//**

"How do I get someone to get my Chosen for me?" The red demanded of the group landing after him.

The four looked at one another.

"We do not call for them," Smudge explained, "They just come for us when they want to."

Larg snorted. "Well, that's stupid."

Smudge shrugged. "Well, you could call your Chosen if you wanted to. Though, I think you would have to be loud. The building is very big, you know."

Speck blinked, then covered his ears.

Larg, not one to delay, began filling his lungs with air, and aiming his muzzle at the hole in the roof.

The two females sighed, and rolled theirs eyes, following Speck's example. Smudge also covered his ears, hoping that Larg's shout would not bother too many people.

The red's lungs inflated to full capacity, and--

**//DRDRDR//**

Toma sat on the edge of his bed, watching the Crazy sitting on the floor. Lewis was picking at the dried blood on his shirt, looking vaguely disappointed.

What had once been a deep and vibrant red had turned into crusty, brownish splotches upon his clothes. Lewis was starting to look around, as if searching for something, when a roaring bellow shook the room (and possibly the rest of the building.)

The guard in the room jumped, and Toma fell backwards onto the bed. Lewis paused, eyes wide.

Before any could actually realize what what happen, or what was happening now, the Crazy had gotten to his feet and was struggling with the door that was the only way out of the room, and locked.

While the guard went to the window, quickly opening the glass plane to look up at where the noise had come from and where the dragons resided, Toma scrambled to get to Lewis.  
The Crazy stared at the Finder before the man even had a chance to reach him, demanding that Toma: "_Ooopeeen_," the door.

"Now Sir Lewis," The Finder was being very reasonable, and very quiet. He knew that even if Lewis did manage to get outside, two other guards were waiting for him. "I can't let you out just now--"

"OoopeEen, dooOor. LaaAarg, _MyyYy_ Laarg." Lewis was grappling with the door handle like it was an offending protrusion only meant for causing suffering and obnoxiousness.

Well, Toma knew what 'Larg,' meant, but he didn't know whether or not he was allowed to open the door--

A second, louder roar was sounded, and all of the Finders doubts were squished into dust when Lewis looking at him with his wide owl eyes and said again: "M-my, Laaaarg."

**//DRDRDR//**

Ammy rolled her eyes as Larg breathed erratically after his last 'yell,' trying to catch his breath. "You could have called your Chosen by _name_, you know."

Larg glared, shaking himself all over. "...shut-up ... my crazy ... will come." He huffed.

"However is your ... crazy to know it was _you_ calling?" The orange returned. "All you did was roar like any common beast."

"'arg sound is diffren't." Speck noted, cleaning out an ear with one of his claws carefully. "'arg sound deeeep."

_... Arg? _The red thought for a moment, wondering whether or not the gray was insulting him or just speaking like his crazy did.

"True, Larg does have the lowest voice out of all of us." Smudge agreed, long since accustomed to the gray's scrambled and sometimes nonsensical way of speaking.

Sunny just yawned, looking over the edge of the roof at the ground below. "Well, I think most everyone will be coming anyway."

"Why do you think that?" Smudge asked, ignoring Ammy and Larg as they got into (yet another) argument (this one about the differences between Crazys and Servants).

The yellow grinned, and pointed with the tip of her bright yellow tail. "Look _down_, and you will see."

Smudge obliged her, Speck squeezing by his shoulder to look too. "Oh." The black said.

Speck just laughed at the many little human faces peering up at them from windows, and said: "Me hope Al-_len_ comes too."

But, by this point, a head with messy and mopish brown hair had already poked out of the hole in the roof, and scraggly body scrambling to follow as a worried voice called up for 'Sir Lewis' to 'be careful.'

Larg ignored the still-arguing Ammy to call his crazy over with a grin only a predator could give: one full of dagger-like teeth.

Lewis ran over, eyes belonging to an owl and smile belonging to a happy maniac, and hugged the red scaly arm that was more like a good-sized tree trunk.

The red laughed, and licked at the dirty cheek while eying the stains on his Chosen's clothing. "Have you been having fun, my crazy?"

"Mmmph." Lewis said into the thick arm he still held onto.

The red's eyes glittered. "I think you want something to drink, correct?"

The Crazy let go and nodded enthusiastically. "Ree_Eed_!"

Larg laughed, and settled down on his haunches, tail curled around Lewis. "I thought it was getting near that time again." The red commented, ignoring the audience of dragons and the commotion of people trying to come up while Toma valiantly held the mass back.

Larg brought on clawed hand close to the other, and cut one of his clawed fingers open lightly, bringing down the bleeding fore finger to the eager Crazy.

_This_ was the red he wanted!

Lewis latched onto the wound like a leach, reveling in the taste. It made him cold and hot and dead and alive all at the same time, ultimately making him dizzy, but also making him sip

the liquid slowly, to savor the experience.

And like that, the fire that had been building in his head was put out, and the slow turning gears in his mind that had been beginning to move again were stilled. Thoughts were eradicated, replaced only by what Lewis was now.

Crazy.

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever grumbled, wondering just why _he_ had to be the one to go up on the roof. The ladder was simple, just wood-nailed-on-wood, and the rungs bit into his scholar's-hands as he pulled himself up.

The fact that the carpet was soggy from last night ran and was starting to cultivate a variety of fungus and possibly mushrooms didn't help the Section Leader's state of mind much.

He knew that Komui was busy explaining to all of the Exorcists the current situation, and handing out new missions.

Reever himself was surprised. Things had cropped up seemingly overnight after his own find of disappearing virgins, and most of the Exorcists would be gone within the next two days.  
To him, things were finally getting back on track. Well, besides this mess anyway ...

With that, the Scientist scrambled up onto the roof, and made for the large red mass lounging in the sun. The rest of the multi-colored bunch were within sight, diving in and out of the sea.

Apparently, without the need to talk the humans into giving up the experiments that were now ... well, dead, and since their Chosen weren't coming to visit anytime soon, the fliers were exorcising in the most entertaining way possible. Water-tag.

Reever, however, was busy with other things. Like _why_ Lewis had made such a mess of things, _would_ the Crazy be doing any things like that again, and if the young man was suffering under any specific illness that would cause such sporadic behavior.

The Crazy was currently sleeping across the dragon's red back like a lizard on a rock, belly-up, with a happy smile on his face.

And now, the hard part. Figuring out how to ask these questions without insulting something at least ten times bigger than he was.

Reever cleared his throat, and began with: "Larg?"

The red head swiveled in the man's direction. "Yes?"

"Can you tell me why Lewis went ... crazy?"

Oh, _wonderful_ start.

Larg smiled a bit, and shifted himself into a more comfortable position. The Crazy on his back was only slightly jostled, and didn't even stir. "You want to know about my crazy?"

Reever narrowed his eyes, suspicious. He had seen that look before; right before the Supervisor demanded something horribly stupid. "Yes."

The red licked it's lips. "Well, that could take a while ... and I would need something to keep myself from growing bored ..."  
Reever didn't like the sound of the dragon's voice.

The dragon got to the point. "I'll need beer then."

Reever blinked. That was _it_? The Scientist grinned back. "Okay. While we wait for the beer, we can begin our chat. How much would you like?"

The red blinked himself. The dragon had been expecting an objection. But if the humans wanted to make this easy, he would not object in the least! "Five barrels to start with, I think."  
Reever walked back to the hole, and called down to Toma (who hadn't left the room yet) to get a few people working on getting a few barrels of beer up there on the double.

Walking back, the Section Leader saw the red smiling from ear to ear. "I think you and I will find this conversation very rewarding, human."

"My name is Reever, if you want to call me something." The man replied, not liking the way the word 'human' had been twisted into something degrading. Or, at least it had sounded that way.

The red laughed, and Reever found that though the sound wasn't grating, it wasn't pleasant either. Like the dragon didn't often laugh at such things, and instead laughed at ... things that were more to the side of black humor.

"Fine, fine. You want to know about my crazy, yes?"

Reever nodded, and sat down. The rooftop was not the most comfortable place to rest one's backside, but it was better than standing. "Start with why he cut open the ... test subjects."  
"Well," The red said. "Lewis was probably just looking for his 'medicine.'" The dragon laughed again.

Reever knew enough that the dragon was referring to blood.

"Though, the man-blood probably did not taste as good as mine." Larg gave Reever a cold glance. "You are lucky my crazy was not at the point of ripping _moving_ people open. That would have been ..." Larg's grin widened. "Pretty."

_Pretty?_ "What do you mean by 'point?'"

"My crazy was just going through a ... withdrawal." The dragon thought about what words it was using carefully. "He practically lives off what I give him."

Reever made a few mental notes. "Your blood is a ... drug?"

The red snorted. "In a way, yes. You could call it a drug. My crazy uses it to stay sane."

Reever tried not to yell how stupid that last sentence had just sounded. _The crazy drinks dragon blood to stay sane? I'm sorry, but the small flaw in that logic is that the crazy is still Crazy!_

"And how does it work?"

"It fries the crazy's brain." The dragon's ears twitched, and Reever heard people trying to wrestle something up the ladder. Probably the dragon's requested drinks.

The dragon stood up and waltzed over on all fours to grab the first keg as it came up, and ate the first barrel without even disturbing the Crazy out-cold on his back.

Back to the conversation.

"I think I'll leave the exact effects as 'brain frying.'" Reever really didn't want to try to get into specifics. "So, due to his addiction he went searching for more, and mistakenly ... cut up the test subjects?"

"To put it simply." Larg settled down again, but within claws reach of the opening where his beer would be coming from.

"Can Lewis be weened off of the ... blood?" The Section Leader's top priority was to make sure that Lewis didn't have anymore overly violent episodes. He had been on of the few 'privileged' enough to see the remains before they were disposed of.

The dragon gave him a funny look. "Yes. But I don't think you want my crazy to be crazy."

Reever hated it when the dragons spoke nonsense. "But Lewis is _already_ crazy." The Scientist emphasized. "So, he can't get any worse."

The dragon smiled, grabbing his second barrel when it came up. "If you say so huma-- ... Reever. Today's drink will probably wear off in less than a week, if you really want to see my crazy go crazy." Larg gave Reever a stern look. "But, there are conditions."

Reever raised an eyebrow. He was listening.

"After the first two days, he must be isolated. Unless, of course, you want a repeat of what happened today."

The Scientist quickly agreed to the first term. This wasn't so bad. The Supervisor was waaaay worse than this.

"During day three, make sure he sees nothing red. At all. Give him only water, and keep him away from anything that can bleed."

That would be a bit more tricky ... wait, 'anything that can _bleed_?'

"Make sure he cannot hurt himself in anyway after before day three ends. Tie him up, or some such, and lock him away somewhere."

Okay? Weird, barbaric, and slightly against moral code, but doable.

"After that ... he should be as crazy as he can get." The red ate his third barrel, smashing the wooden container in his mouth while keeping it closed, so none of the precious liquid was wasted as the container was opened. Like most meat eating creatures, the dragon did not chew. He just swallowed, fragmented wood and all. "You do whatever you want with him after that. Any other questions huma-- ? ... Reever."

The Scientist shook his head, and got up. He'd gotten all the information he needed. Thanking the dragon, he made his way down the ladder, and got out of the way as the fourth barrel of beer was shoved up, and devoured.

He pulled Toma to the side, and gave the Finder the instructions for the coming days that the red dragon had given him. The Finder pulled out a notepad and carefully wrote down every detail, and asked questions as they were needed.

Where would Sir Lewis be housed during the ... sobering process?

What sort of restraints did they have to use when the later days came?

Would Sir Lewis be limited to water for long after the treatment? He was so woefully thin already ...

The Finder did not ask any 'how' questions. The 'how' was now his job.

When done, Toma went back to his post and Reever went off to wait for Komui to finish briefing the Exorcists before asking if they had any ... ideal rooms to stuff a crazy person in for a few days.

While, on the roof ...

The dragon swallowed the fifth barrel, and felt slightly disappointed when no more followed. Damn. He had asked for five barrels to _start_ with, not to end with.

He snorted and spread his wings a bit, intending to warm them in the sun. His Chosen on his back shifted a bit, now that the wings were no longer folded, and helping to keep him in place.

Larg lazily swiveled his head around, watching the young brown-haired man slowly slip, then fall.

There was a dull 'thunk' when the crazy's shoulder hit the hard roof, and the Crazy yelped. The dragon laughed as Lewis moaned to himself, not liking the new bruises on his right side.  
Lewis cast an accusing, droopy-eyed glance at the laughing red. "_Noo_Oo. _Baad_ Laarg." The Crazy reprimanded the red, before leaning against the dragon's side and passing out again.

The two were quite a pair: a junky Crazy and a drunken dragon.

But it worked out. In the end.

Because, even thought his brain was fried, everything else Lewis had worked fine. In fact, the rest of his body was improved, especially his bones. They would not break, no matter how hard he was hit, or how high he fell. Which was probably a good thing, considering the fact that he did fall from very high distances, and get hit by very hard things when Larg wasn't paying attention.

Yeah, the two worked out all right.

In the end.

**END 24. Knowing Red**

**AN:** Hm ...next chapter is going to have a time skip. I'm just going to fast forward to the fun stuff ... Namely, the crazy stuff.

Sorry, but Lewis has got the spotlight for now ... but once I'm done with him, I'll give ya'll some update on what the new missions the Exorcists are doing! :)

Until ... whenever I update peoples! :'D

-knux33


	25. Lost?

**25. Lost?**

Sitting in the Library, Krory was trying to read (or at least pretending to read) a book, unsuccessfully ignoring the brat jabbering at his ear.

A beast size of a large dog and multi-headed like a creature from Greek myth grumbled from Arystar's feet, just as agitated.

Because, well--

"He was annoyed."

"No no no, O more Confusing me! Our Chosen _is_ annoyed. You must learn to speak proper human-talk, you know." The right head rebuffed the left, and Lavi glared at the two-headed dragon on the floor.

The red-head was not being _annoying_. Well, he was, but he just didn't want to admit it.

Lavi had been slinking behind Krory for the past two hours, since they were the only two Exorcists not on missions at that point, as Miranda left with Sunny on that day, and he had truly been curious about the purple thing that lagged behind the pale man like a talkative shadow that liked to eat cakes and organs.

Lavi had been trying to name the two-but-one dragon, and had failed spectacularly so far, much to the apparent annoyance of the unnamed-dragon and Krory.

"Come on Krorykins, how about we call the dragon Fluffy!"

Arystar glared moodily over the top of his not-really-to-be-read book at the hyper teen that had been following him for at least two hours, and sprouting ridiculous names during the past few minutes.

Lavi pretended to think. "Ah, but the purplish hide has no hair though ... forget Fluffy."

"Lavi, please use your brain." Krory sighed pondering throwing the brat out the nearest window.

The red head snapped his fingers. "That's it! We'll call him Encephalon!"

The purple heads groaned, and shook back and fourth in a double negative.

"But it _means_ brain! Sort of ..."

"Quiet." Krory ordered, blocking his view of the teen across from him with his book, as if using the novel as a shield.

"_Quiet_!" The left and right heads joined in.

Lavi ignored them. "But, also we need some way to differentiate the two heads ..." He pondered, trying to think of a word that could be just as whole, and still separated, as the dragon at the two Exorcist's feet.

Now, the Junior Bookman really was thinking about a good name for the two(one), and knew that he could goof off as much as he wanted while thinking about it as Krory had inadvertently doomed himself to this by first asking Lavi: 'What would a good name be for the dragon?', which is probably why the teen had not been thrown out of a window.

Yet.

"Lerrel." The teen said with determination.

Three heads stared at him.

"_Ler_, for the left head," Lavi said, a grin growing on his one-eyes face. "And _Rel_ for the right. And it can still be one word: Ler-Rel."

The right head spoke: "Does it mean anything stupid in some dead human-tongue?"

"Nope." Lavi said, proud of himself for finding a name so fitting. "But it sounds _sweet_."

"Cakes were sweet." The left head said, nodding.

The purple looked at Krory, and the pale man agreed with a nod himself.

So it was.

"Cakes _are _sweet." Rel corrected, smacking Ler on the nose lightly.

Ler snorted, and smacked back, harder that Rel had hit him.

And so Rel retaliated, causing Ler to rebuke him and back and fourth, until the purple looked like ... well, like a two-headed thing having a disagreement.

It was quite funny actually. Each head only had one arm with which to batter the other with, and the tail whipped back and forth across Lavi's legs and one of the table pegs, making the younger Exorcist jump up and away from the table.

Krory, taking a more direct approach after being pestered for just about an hour, simply grabbed one head in each hand and slammed the two skulls into one another.

That stopped the bickering, though the two heads now groaned quietly, rubbing tenderly at their 'hurt' places.

Ler opened his mouth, and and Lavi got ready to automatically translate the words from past tense to future tense, because that was just the way the left head spoke. "It was very sad."

_It _is going to be_ very sad._

The Junior Bookman blinked. The words didn't make sense either way, and was very off topic from what was happening.

Rel sighed, and was just about to correct the left head again when a muffled sound was heard, making both dragon heads and Krory pause.

Lavi saw the three tense and tried to be quiet. He knew full well that he couldn't hear as well as Arystar or the dragons.

To the red head, the only sound was silence.

The Rel and Ler looked at one another, frowning, and Arystar Krory stood up, placing his book down upon the table. Lavi quickly moved to follow as the purple rose into its own feet.

The three (four?) slipped out of the Library, and a blue nose poked out from behind a shelf, curious. Luke had heard the noise too, and it had made him shiver.

It had sounded like a scream. No, not a scream. The blue dragon felt the muffled sound heard resembled something more akin to a howl.

With a curiosity great enough to quell fear, the blue _blend_ed, and followed, telling himself that he was doing this so that he could share the information with his Chosen when the Inspector returned from his mission with the Good, not-Monster, Allen.

Oh, how badly he missed his Chosen! But Chosen had told him to stay here, ordered him to stay here, so HQ is where the blue remained. Sticking his invisible nose into anything and everything.

Well ... almost. Never would he venture deep into the belly of the grand building, where the Monsters were, and the blue never ventured very far from the Library, to tell the truth.

What scared him now, was that something strange was happening down there, and the other dragon was going.

Stupid purple! Didn't it know Monsters lived down there?

Silly people! Didn't they know that the Monsters could hurt them too?

After almost four days without his Chosen (as Link and Allen had been the first two to be sent off), the blue was both tense and very bored. A nervous agitation had been eating away at his stomach like a worm, making him feel sick and uneasy at the same time.

Something had been bound to happen, and it was happening now.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Sir!" Toma said urgently to the Scientist, flinching after hearing the scream coming from the other side of the reinforced door.

"Give me a minute ..." The Quiet man said, was looking through several bottles he had brought with him. "I don't want to shoot him up with the wrong thing ..."

The Quiet Scientist had assigned himself to be the medical 'supervisor' over the current trial they were 'testing' with Lewis. The Quiet Scientist had heard of addiction problems before with common drugs and alcohol, but never with an Innocence abstract.

And, well, he really didn't want to work with the Loud Scientist or the unmoral experiments he had been preforming before. He couldn't convince himself to do it anymore.  
So, here he was.

Plus, it would be an intriguing prospect to see what happens to someone who has had Innocence in there system, and then had it removed. Though, by the soft whimpering they had herd the past few hours, combined with the howling screams they heard now, it was probably a most painful process.

Which was why they were now going to sedate the patient, and hopefully keep him unconscious through the worst of it.

The Quiet man was surprised the Crazy had lasted this long without any truly obvious symptoms of withdrawal, though they had followed all of the red dragon's instructions.

They were on day four, supposedly went Lewis would get as Crazy as he was going to get, according the Larg.

The Quiet man motioned for the Finder to open the door and Toma did, yanking on the heavy and reinforced object, giving the Quiet man a view of his 'patient' currently wearing a straitjacket.

The Crazy was curled in on himself, still howling like a burning stake was being stabbed into his back. His brown eyes were clamped tightly shut, and tears were oozing out from beneath the lids.

The man quietly shivered at the sound. It was a howl of lost and crushing realization, and the Quiet man did not want to be the one to hear the sound, or know what would make a person scream like this, but he gritted his teeth and bared it.

The Quiet Scientist prepped the needle, and Toma carefully moved to keep Lewis from moving as the Scientist moved to inject the liquid into the Crazy's neck as both arms were covered from sight within the straitjacket.

Lewis didn't seem to notice the two now with him in the room, at least, he didn't notice them until Toma touched his arm.

Then, the Crazy howled even louder, squirming within his restraints and trying to move away from the touch, thoughts a swirl of fragments and pieces trying to force themselves back together.

_Oh God, it hurts, they're gone, they're gone, lost, forever, red, it hurts_--

But, the efforts yielded very little results, and the Finder quickly had the Crazy secured, and a needle was slipped into a pulsing vain within his neck, and the screaming slowly died, fragmented thoughts dulling and loosing their sharp edge.

--_gone, dead. It hurts, I'm cold, red, they're gone, numb, cold, spinning_--

The screaming turned to sobs, that died when the skeletal body went slack, and Toma gave the Scientist a sad glance.

--_spinning, falling_--

"This should last for at least an hour." He said Quietly, putting the needle away. "And, by then, it might not be so bad."

Toma nodded, and they left the room, leaving the silent Crazy curled up on the floor of the small, empty, windowless, and padded room. The Finder had been surprised such a room even existed within the headquarters.

The Scientist hadn't been surprised, he just quietly wondered what the room was intended for, or, _who_ the room was intended for, actually. Because, he had been working at Central for a long time before coming here, and he knew that everything was in it's place for a reason: be that reason for the present or otherwise.

Either way, they had the perfect place to take care of a ... Crazy? Innocence-addict? Both? Whatever you called it, it was what it was.

--_fading ... spinning ... they're gone. It hurts._

The two exited and closed the door, locking the bolt from the outside. But, upon turning around, they saw that they were no longer going about their business unobserved. Two Exorcists were watching, one with a curious eye, the other with two disapproving ones.

And, at ground level, two pairs of eyes glowed white in the semi-darkness, not curious, but knowing.

Toma greeted the two Exorcists by name, and even greeted that dragon, but not by name. Well, Lerrel had only been named moments ago, so who could blame the Finder?

The purple heads were quick to make their new name known to the Finder and Scientist, before shuffling over to the door the Crazy was behind and standing up straight, stretching their long necks to try and see behind the small rectangular window in the door, both heads fighting for the better view as they stood on their tip-toes.

Lavi followed, talking as he tried to get a small glimpse inside as well. "So, what-cha doin' with the Crazy?" The red-head said lazily, moving the head that was Ler out of the way so he could see. His left eye _was_ his 'good' one.

"We're trying to detox him." The Scientist quietly answered, packing his bottles back into the small case he had off to the side. "Though ... I'm beginning to think that if this 'stage' lasts too long, we might be best off letting him keep to his 'addiction.'"

Krory gave the Finder a questioning look, and Toma said respectfully: "It seems to be a most painful process for Sir Lewis at this point; and I was just about to go to Sir Wenhamm to request that we let Lewis continue having small amounts of the ..." The Finder hesitated. "... blood, so he may gradually get used to going without."

"Or just stop the project altogether." Was Quietly added, and the Scientist closed his bag.

Lavi '_hmm_'-ed thoughtfully, ignoring Ler as the head demanded to have it's viewpoint back. Rel snickered at his other half's displeasure, still looking in at the Crazy from his own half of the small rectangular 'window' in the door. There wasn't much to watch, the only living thing inside the room was a crumpled heap on the floor, and the room was empty of anything besides a small light in the top, illuminating the entire cell.

Yes, it was rightly called a cell.

Lavi turned back to face the Scientist Quietly packing away his things and the Finder standing patiently, probably intending to stay with the Crazy for whatever length of time it took for

Lewis to either be officially labeled 'sober' or 'Innocence-addict.'

The Junior Bookman adjusted his headband, looking at no one in particular as he talked. "Well, how long is the Crazy going to be here?"

Toma shrugged and the Quiet Scientist thought for a moment. "They may want to keep the trial going for a few days more, to see if Lewis really can become 'clean.'"

Lavi nodded, then said to the Finder that he would watch the Crazy while he went to go report to the Supervisor. "Besides, we weren't doing anything important, were we Krorykins?" The teen grinned imploringly at the older man.

Arystar answered that, no, they hadn't really been doing anything important, and Lavi talked on, hooking both the Scientist and Finder under on friendly arm each, leading the two over to the door, and practically shoving them both away.

The Quiet Scientist took this affront well, Saying that he would be a few hallways over, so that if anything happened he was only a holler away, and Toma quickly went to bring the new proposal to the Supervisor.

So, the two were alone again, the purple monstrosity peaking in at the Crazy through the small window. Lavi went over to the door, and asked Lerrel to get out of the way.  
Rel snorted, and Ler giggled, but he/they got down and out of the way.

Lavi began unlocking the door, much to Krory's astonishment. "What are you--"

"I want to take a good look at the Crazy." Lavi said over his shoulder, opening the heavy door and slipping inside before the older Exorcist could object any further.

Ler poked his purple nose in, then Rel did too, and the door was wide open for the dragon and older man to watch as the teen crept over to the crumpled pile of bones on the floor.

Lavi wasn't surprised that Lewis was in a straitjacket, or that the room he was kept in was virtually a padded cell, with the walls and floor covered in a soft layer to keep the Crazy from hurting himself, but he _was_ surprised that such a room was in existence in HQ.

He filed that little question away for later, and crouched next to the mass on the floor.

Messy brown hair, rag-tag clothing stained with brown where the straitjacket didn't cover him, pale skin, gaunt features, and disgusting-looking shoes. The Crazy looked just about the same from the first time Lavi had seen him, eating pancakes. Except, of course, Lewis no longer had that childish smile on his face, or owl-eyed stare.

Nope. The Crazy was out cold from whatever the doctor/scientist had given him. Lavi thought that a good thing, poking at the Crazy's side like a child would with a strange dead animal.  
Lerrel inched into the room, Krory behind. The dragon poked at Lewis' feet, trying to wiggle one of the grimy shoes off.

"What are you doing?" Lavi whispered at the dragon's two heads.

"_Nothing_." The two heads whispered back in sync. "_Well, nothing important_." The dragon had successfully removed the shoe and were now poking at the old scars of the pad of the foot, inspecting it.

"Both of you _get back out here_." Krory ordered, at the threshold.

"Do you mean--" Rel began as Ler continued. "--I and Me or--" The two finished together, gesturing at Lavi. "_Bookman and I_?"

The Crazy twitched, and they all froze.

The brown eyes beneath the clumped hair of the same dull color opened, and blinked sleepily.

Lavi's mind was going a mile a minute, his body still crouched and tense right next to the Crazy. _The Scientist just knocked this guy out cold--_

Lewis gazed at the redhead by his shoulder, then the two-headed dragon by his shoe-less foot, and a familiar emotion crossed his face. Confusion.

_--how is he awake!?_ Lavi didn't want to move, but Ler blinked, and stretched his horned head closer to the Crazy's face, inspecting the glassy brown eyes.

Ler laughed, and said. "Sleeping, it was!"

"Sleeping, it _is_." Rel corrected, and the purple body crept closer to what the heads were inspecting.

Lavi furrowed his eyebrows, carefully moving so he could get a better look at Lewis' face.

Dull, glassy, and unfocused brown stared straight ahead, looking at something waking eyes couldn't see. And, as Lavi watched, clear crystal liquid oozed out, showing that new (or maybe old) emotions were beginning to come into the Crazy's mind that hadn't been there before.

**//DRDRDR//**

There was a Quiet sigh, and the Scientist wandered around, looking for a room that was close enough to where the Crazy was so that he was within shouting distance. Peaking into the first room, he found three others working inside, typing away and scribbling down formulas. He closed that door softly, and moved onto the next.

Looking in on this room, however, he was surprised to see a familiar face, and to hear an equally familiar Loud voice telling him to either come the Hell in or get the Hell out.

Quietly, he came in, peaking at the papers the Loud Scientist was working over.

_Hmm, more experimental observation_. It looked like the Loud man had been given a new test subject, and that the new one was showing signs of success.

The Loud man quickly cover the papers, blocking the Quiet man's view and glared at his ex-college. "Well? How's the Crazy you're working on?" He Loudly scorned, still blaming Lewis (rightly) for the premature deaths of his other subjects.

The Quiet man shrugged, and sat down. "He's in pain."

"_Good_." The Loud Scientist shivered, as if cold, and pulled his lab coat tighter around himself.

The Quiet Scientist, though not a fan of the way the loud man thought or did things, worriedly noticed that the other had several layers of clothing on beneath his white coat.

He could not help it. In this new place full of strange people, the Loud man was the only one he knew, and the Quiet man felt obligated to care about the taller Scientist. "Are you alright?"

The Loud man gave the Quiet one a glare, but still shivered. "Don't you have fools that you need to be doctoring instead of bothering me with stupid questions?"

The younger Scientist shook his head silently, but continued to look at his acquaintance suspiciously. "So, how are the new subjects?" The paperwork was enough to prove that the Loud man was working on something.

The cold man snorted Loudly. "I've only been given the resources to work with one."

The Quiet Scientist knew. It was painfully obvious that their project had been dropped for what others were working on at Central, and that all of the willing flesh was now going there. What they had done just hadn't yielded enough results. "... and?"

"It's doing well." The shivering increased a bit, and the Loud Scientist shuffled through a few of the papers lying on his desk. "I still don't know what's causing the body temperature to drop though."

There was a Quiet and thoughtful '_hum_' from the younger Scientist. "The only remedy I can still think of is to just put the subject in a warmer environment."

There was a Loud laugh. "Obviously. The idiots in charge still haven't given me a room with a heater that's powerful enough to make a difference."

A sad, Quiet sigh cooled the scorn in the room. "Like always."

"Like always, they're idiots." The Loud man agreed.

The Quiet man gave his ex-college one last glance, before getting up. "I'm going to go back." The Loud man looked at the younger man questioningly. "I don't think it would be good to leave the patient without a doctor at hand for too long."

There was one last Loud laugh as he left the room, following him on the way out as he passed the large heater that had been making the room uncomfortably warm for him the entire time. "So, the Crazy fool's a patient and you're a _doctor_ now? _Ha_!"

The Quiet man just shook his head sadly one last time before closing the door to the lab, which held only one living occupant.

An occupant that was now both Scientist and Experiment. Willingly. The Quiet Scientist knew it was what the Loud wanted: to succeed. If it took his body to do so ... he would use it.

_He wants attention. Recognition. He would sacrifice anything to do something that would make his name go down in history. Create the perfect soldier, or to just be a name on the list of the dead, it doesn't matter. He just wants to be important. _

Quietly, the Scientist took a deep breath, and let it out, plodding slowly back to where the Exorcists and Crazy were.

_He just wants to be _remembered_._

**//DRDRDR//**

"_Lavi_." Arystar ordered. The pale man had already gotten the purple dragon out of the room by pulling it out by it's tail (no matter how Lerrel protested) and was now trying to get the teen to follow. "Get out of there now--"

"It was awake!" The left head exclaimed, and the purple body ceased wiggling for a moment.

The Junior Bookman ignored Krory, and was curiously waving a hand in front of the tearing eyes.

The Brown eyes blinked, then tried to follow the movement.

"Lewis?" Lavi tried. "Are you sober?"

The young man shook his head, and Lavi grinned. He was awake enough to answer questions, and sane enough to know what was being said to him, and that was on hell of a leap in the right direction. Now ...

"Why are you crying?"

Slowly, and with a lot of wiggling, the Crazy (or not-so-Crazy) tried to make himself right-side-up, and the teen helped when he realized what Lewis want.

Once righted, the ragged skeleton leaned on the padded wall for support and swallowed hard, blinking. "I--" He tried, voice raw. "I-- ... lost ..." The tear-streaked face was confused, befuddled. "I lost ..."

The mind had mostly pieced itself back together, but now a few final bit had yet to connect.

"_Lavi_!" The older Exorcist hissed, still holding onto the straining dragon's tail. Now that the Crazy was moving, Lerrel was twice as curious to see it.

Again, Lavi ignored Arystar. "Take it slow," The Junior Bookman advised the one-Crazy man only a handful of years older than himself. "You've just had your brain de-fried after all."

The skeleton was just as confused as ever. "Why--" Lewis croaked, testing his straitjacket. "--am I--?"

"Tied up?" The red head shrugged, sitting down in a crossed-legged position. "I dunno. You sounded like you were in a lotta pain a little while ago though."

The Confused young man just nodded in an absent-minded manner, thinking. "It hurt ..."

"And it doesn't hurt now?"

"I don't--" The confined man rasped, "I don't feel _anything_ ... now."

Lavi poked the skeleton's forehead experimentally. "Feel that?"

The now-sane young man shook his head, loose brown hair swinging.

Lavi thought for a moment, gazing at the dull brown eyes. "I guess whatever the quiet guy shot you up with sort-of worked, anyway."

The dull brown orbs traveled across the room. "Where ...?"

Lavi gave a reassuring grin. "You're at the Black Order Headquarters, Lew!"

The eyes blinked. "You know ... my name?"

"Of course! Ya told Toma, remember?"

The brown was beginning to seem less dull, and the tears had begun to dry. " ... To-ma?"

"_I want to see too_!" Lerrel demanded, squirming again in Krory's grasp and drawing the focusing gaze of the once-crazy to the door.

"What's ..." He rasped, before swallowing. "Oh. Dragon." There was recognition there, not surprise or fear.

"Yup." Lavi confirmed, leading the confused man to answers. "You've got one too."

"Larg ..." Lewis blinked. "Because he was large." He giggled, sounding more tired than hysterical. "Larg was Larg because Larg was large ..." He thought a bit. "Where are ...?" He trailed off, brown eyes growing dull again.

Lavi waited to see if the young man would finish the question.

Lewis took a breath, voice weaker now, his eyes less focused. "Where are they?"

"Where are who?" Lavi asked.

The skeleton's eyes drooped, whatever force that had kept him up was leaving him. "They ..." The voice wavered, and Lewis seemed to remember something, the final bits fiting together at last. "Oh. They're gone. I forgot ..." The eyes closed, and a few tears escaped as the tired and broken voice repeated. "They're gone. _Gone_."

And then the once-crazy young man was dead to the world again, still crying over something long since lost. Or, maybe, something only recently gone.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Walker." Link said, trying not to clutch to the saddle beneath him, like every single fiber of his being was telling him to. "We're lost."

The young Exorcist was currently occupied; his face pressed against a map that was vainly trying to escape his grasp in the strong wind that whipped about them as Speck flew, speckled gray wings flapping in smooth strokes.

"No, no, wait--" Allen wrestled with the scrap of paper. "We just past this river--" The teen tried pointing at one of the blue line on the map. "--and we're probably somewhere--"

"We're lost Walker." Link interrupted, sound absolute with his statement.

Allen looked back and over his shoulder at the grumpy-looking Inspector. "Just because I can't find my way to the Cafeteria, doesn't mean I'm always lost--"

"Walker," Howard started, trying not to reply with hostility. "I know we are lost because you are holding the map _upside-down_."

Allen blinked, looking at the wiggling paper, and carefully turning it right-side-up. "Oh."

Speck giggled, causing the two currently seated on his back to bob up and down with his laughter.

Link was far from amused. "Give me the map." He ordered, holding out his hand for the paper.

Allen handed the map over, feeling slightly dejected.

Link looked from the map to the ground, looking for landmarks. He frowned. The map consisted mostly of rivers and man-made roads, neither of which could be seen clearly from the hight Speck was lazily gliding at.

"Down?" The speckled gray asked, looking back a the two with his flexible neck that all of the reptilian mythical beasts seemed to have.

Howard nodded and quickly added: "Yes, bring us down."

The dragon stopped flapping and just continued to glide, going down slowly and looking this way and that a good spot to land where there weren't any people present.

Allen gave Howard a curious look. The Exorcist had thought the strict Inspector would have them flying for as long as possible.

The Inspector noticed the look and stiffly stated that: "The sun is already setting, and we might as well take the time to settle in for the night and get our bearings."

The white-haired boy shrugged and looked down, searching for any near-by towns they could look for inns in.

Speck stiffened slightly, and both Allen and Howard noticed. It was almost impossible not too, being as the two of them payed careful attention to the only thing between them and a deathly fall.

"Speck?" Allen asked, searching the sky and ground for any signs of trouble.

"Shh," The gray almost whispered the sound, still gliding carefully downward.

It wasn't an akuma, Howard noted. Otherwise, Walker would have noticed too.

They lower farther in silence, the smallish gray still tense as a bowstring, looking almost like he was listening for something.

Allen wondered what could be happening, when Speck sighed, and shook his horned head. "No. Nothing, me sorry for worry." The gray told the two people, concentrating on landing again.

Link glared at the back of the gray skull. "And _what_ was it exactly that you thought you noticed, that wasn't there?"

Speck gave the Inspector a perfectly innocent look. "Me think me hear talking."

"Talking?"

"Talking."

"_What_ talking?" They were still a mile away from the ground for God's sakes! What was the dragon hearing, voices in his head?

"None talking. Me no hear no more." Speck said as-a-matter-of-fact, and landed in a clearing, the impact nice and light and with a lot of flapping so that he didn't jar his passengers.

"We here." The gray declared as Allen and Howard slid off of him.

Allen looked around at the dimming landscape, and Howard tried to get a better look at the map, now that the piece of paper wasn't being tossed about by the wind.

Trying to talk with the gray dragon about most anything would be a waste of time, the Inspector decided. Luke, _his_ dragon, was _much_ better at getting his points across.

And, they were defiantly lost.

Link held back a sigh, and crisply ordered Allen to get a move on.

"Where are we going?" The Exorcist asked, curious. He had seen a few towns and roads leading to them when Speck had landed, and was hoping Link now knew where they were.

"To ask where we are." Nope. Location was still unknown, even to the Inspector.

Allen frowned, but told Speck to stay there and quickly followed after the blond German.

(AN: I've just _heard_ Link is German ... correct me if I'm wrong.)

"Hey Link ..." Allen asked, white eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Yes, Walker."

"Why didn't you tell me we were going the wrong way sooner?"

"..."

"You must have noticed right away--" Allen stopped talking, another thought coming at him. "Unless, of course, you _weren't_ paying attention?"

"... What is your point, Walker?"

The Exorcist stared at the Inspector like he had just grown two heads. "My point is, you're acting weird."

Link continued walking through the forest brush, raising one thin golden eyebrow. "Weird?"

"Weird." Allen nodded, watching where he stepped, just in case a snake was hiding in the loose bits of bark and tree beneath his feet. "You looked tired for some reason a few days ago, you're not paying attention now, and you're not as ..."

"... Not as what, Walker?"

_Well, you're not as stiff as a board, or ranting on about some rule or another, or giving a speech on how I should eat more vegetables._ "You're not as rigid." Allen decided to say aloud, as the majority of his thoughts were too ... demeaning, to mention.

"... Rigid."

"Yup."

"'Yup' is not a word, Walker."

"..."

"..."

It was going to be a long walk.

**END 25. Lost?**

AN: ... **Updates after this point will probably take a while** ... I have exams coming up, AND my mother just bought us a puppy spontaneously last week.

Smudge: What is a 'puppy?'

A creature that is fuzzy, unbelievably cute, will lick your face off when it greets you, and has to be supervised 24-7, until it learns NOT to chew on power wiring or not to go inside the house.

Sunny: (snicker) Sounds like Gremlin ...

Ammy: Though, I do not believe the bug is 'fuzzy.'

Well, at least Gremlin doesn't go in the house, though I'm not sure about the power cord thing ...

... Anyway, I will write whenever I can, but don't expect the weekly updates to be so wonderfully regular any more ... I apologize.

See you all (you wonderful readers you!) at the next update!

-knux33


	26. To the Road's Beginning

**26. To the Road's Beginning**

Red, gooey, and sticky.

_It _smeared the once-Crazy's face, and painted his fingers.

_It_ was smeared across his plate in pale red pools, and the skeleton licked both the plate and his fingers clean of the substance, brown eyes a little less dull.

_It _was the color of Lavi's hair as the junior Bookman watched Lewis gobble down the strawberries, free of the straitjacket and locked room now that he was sane.

Well, sane enough to stay out of a straitjacket anyway.

His old and ratty clothing was gone, replaced by some Finder's extra loose black pants and a similarly colored shirt. Lewis had also been trusted enough to bath himself, and his brown hair was now less mop-like, and more smooth as it lay tamely against the equality tame young man's head.

Lavi wouldn't have believed in the complete transformation if he hadn't seen it himself. Though, he hesitated to call the young man mentally stable.

Red was still the focus of Lewis' attention, which was probably why he paid any attention at all to Lavi, as he still seemed to stare at the apprentice Bookman's red flash of hair now and then, ignoring anyone or anything else for a few moments every so often.

And, apparently, Lewis loved strawberries after a good helping of pancakes.

"You would have_ really_ freaked Miranda out." Jr. Bookman mused, wondering how the nervous woman was doing on her mission in North America. "Though, I think Lenalee wouldn't of minded the red splotches too much." Lavi gave a soft chuckle at the thought of Lenalee's new mission.

Poor Komui ... his sister had been the only young female virgin Exorcist available ... though the Supervisor had been planing to just send a Finder to fill in the 'virgin sacrifice' role, it turned out that none of the female Finders currently off duty were ... well, virgin.

Lavi covered his mouth to try to hide his laughter. There had only been a handful of female Finders, and it wasn't surprising that none of them were undefiled, considering their ages were around thirty or more, and they were married already in most cases.

Most of the younger men and woman were out and doing the more vigorous jobs a majority of the time anyway.

Lewis was staring at Lavi, curious in his own dull way and wondering about what was amusing the red-head so.

"Nothing, nothing ..." Lavi waved the young man's attention away, and Lewis gobbled down more strawberries, smearing more of the red life juices across himself in the process.

Then again, Beansprout was out with Two-Spot on a pretty interesting mission too. They had been sent to investigate a small rural community on the coast nearby, as Speck could get them there without the train fee, but was slower than the larger dragons ...

Lavi rested his head on his arm, wondering dully when the Science department was going to fix his hammer so he could go out and do stuff too.

It was _boring_ here!

A mostly-eaten bit of strawberry hit him on the forehead, almost shocking the junior Bookman into falling backwards off of his chair.

The once-Crazy was glaring at him with his dull and still-slightly-owlish eyes, mouth set into a small frown. "Don't annoy the peace." The skeleton ordered in the clearest tone Lavi had heard him use yet, and Toma gapped from where he had been silently observing. "It may leave."

Then he went back to gobbling his second favorite food of choice (pancakes still being his top preference), leaving Lavi to contemplate the red liquid drying on his face.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen sighed.

Link frowned.

The two of them, covered with miscellaneous bits of forest, namely: twigs and leaves, stood side by side as they read the post marking the name of the mostly-overgrown road they had found, and glanced from the rotting wooden post with the road's name and their map.

The name of the path they had found was marked in faded lettering to be 'Broadoak Road,' and the old sign also declared that the town of 'Shelford' was only two miles away.

The only problem was that neither the town or the road were on the map. Apparently, this road was outdated and largely unused, though the two had probably already assumed as much, seeing it's overgrown state.

Now, they had two choices. Go back to the dragon, through the dense, evil forest full of clinging plants again, and look for another place to land and hope no one saw a dragon flying overhead at such a low altitude; or, walk down the road and see if the town still existed.

Link sighed and turned to walk back into the forest at the same moment Allen seemed to decide to take the road, causing both of the to start off in different directions before pausing and looking back at one another. Though, the Inspector's look had more of a glare to it.

"Walker," Howard stated. "It would be more logical to just go back to the beast and wait until it got darker."

Allen stared. "But it's only two miles, we could just go and check--"

"And waste our time."

"So, standing around and waiting for the sun to set will help us get to a town quicker?"

"..."

Taking the Inspectors inability to answer the question as a victory, Allen began walking down the path again. After a moment, Link followed.

It wasn't worth the trouble to argue the point any further.

They could walk down the old road now almost completely overgrown in most places (it had been a dirt road, so there really wasn't much to stop the invading vegetation) for as far as two miles and see where that got them.

Either way, they could always come back to the same spot with the faded signpost and find their way back from there. It wasn't like they could get any more lost than they already were.

Well, at least when lost, you're bound to find your way _somewhere_ eventually.

Link grumbled at the map, as if demanding it tell them exactly where they were, and scanning it again to look for the town's name, 'Shelford.'

Allen strolled along, not really worried. When he had travel in his youth with first Mana, and later Cross, neither had used a map. He was used to going where he feet took him, knowing he would get somewhere.

Eventually.

**//DRDRDR//**

Rhode laughed, throwing the snowball with a precise hand at Tyki's head. The wet projectile hit with a satisfying _splat_, and her 'uncle' went down, entire body being covering in white, fluffy, clinging snow.

The girl laughed all the harder, gathering up more of the liquid-solid to make more ammo, when the Portuguese cried defeat, sitting up and wiping off the slush.

Why Rhode had demanded that he accompany to this winter 'wonderland' ... well, hell if he knew why, besides giving herself the chance to freeze and humiliate him.

He brushed the annoyingly-long hair out of his face, where it had come loose enough to reach. He would have cut the unmanageable mass the first chance he had, if Rhode hadn't insisted the locks made him fit into his new noble 'role' as the brother to a ... Camelot.

"Aw, aren't you having fun uncle Tyki?" Rhode asked, spinning on a heel before falling into the snow beside him, apparently making a snow angel. "I thought you liked the snow."

"I did. Before you got five inches of it up my nose." The 'older' Noah replied, making the girl giggle.

"Aw, but you deserved it."

Tyki sighed, getting up and off of the snow melting into his pants, trying to get himself dryer and to refrain from letting any more moisture soak into his undergarments. "And how did I 'deserve' this, per-say?"

The girl pouted, apparently immune to the cold, melting fluff of the snow beneath her (and getting her own clothing slowly soaked). "You ignored me at the party last night."

Tyki raised an ebony eyebrow at her. "I didn't even know you were attending."

"_Exactly_!" The girl exclaimed, jumping up, leaving the imprint of an 'angel' in the snow she had been laying in. "You were so busy avoiding those fluttery air-heads that you didn't even see me laughing at you!"

Mikk snorted; the term 'air-head' didn't even begin to describe the cultured young noble girls that Sheryl seemed determined to throw at him whatever chance he had. He would be amazed if even three of the bunch shared half a brain cell between the lot of them.

"So now," Rhode finished. "I'm going to laugh at you twice as much to make up for your lack of attention last night." And she did. While throwing another load of snow at his face.

So Tyki, laying in the cold slush yet again, wondered why he was putting up with this. The door Rhode had put up was only a couple of yards away, a vivid splash of checkerboard red in the otherwise dull and dead winter forest. And, his clothing was made for looking neat and trim, not to keep out the cold and wet.

"_And_," Rhode giggled, surprising Tyki out of his thoughts of escape. "I want you to meet someone."

He raised an eyebrow at the girl and looked around. All Tyki saw was what had been there before, dull dead gray bark, and white snow drifts as far as the eye could see, and a few mountain peaks on the horizon.

No sign of habitation was obvious, human or otherwise.

Rhode, for what seemed like the millionth time that day, laughed at him. "You can't see him _yet_, uncle Tyki," She said, waving a finger at him. "I have to go get him first."

Then she skipped off, waving at Tyki while telling him not to go anywhere; that she would be right back.

Dumbfounded, he stood in the snow, shivering as he waited.

Who in the world would Rhode want to introduce him to in the middle of nowhere?

The snow made the world horribly quiet when Rhode was out of earshot, and time crawled by like a slug, leaving a slimy trail for each miserable second spent in the cold.

He heard a sound.

It was faint, and sounded far, but he could still here it within the silence of winter.

_Fhump ... fhump ... fhump_--

The Noah furrowed his eyebrows. It sounded almost like a heart beat, slow and steady as it got louder. It was above him and past him before he could blink, a white mass covering the sky, and then gone again.

_What the hell--?_

He saw it's shape as it circle in a lazy arc, and almost pinched himself to see if Rhode was just giving him some sort of crazy nightmare.

Tyki saw it land in a clearing away from where he was, but not too far. He knew it was on the ground when the white wings, like two great sails, flapped and slowed the thing's decent, and then stopped.

And then he waited, not quite sure whether to run for the door Rhode had still open or get ready for a battle.

Fight or flight.

As it turns out, the Noah of Dreams demanded that he do neither as she walking up with ... with ...

A dragon.

'_What the hell_' just doesn't cover the enormousness of confusion at this point.

"Uncle Tyki," Rhode declared, "This is Isaac."

The white beast was laying in the snow, breathing hot, steaming breaths of air in puffs through his nose and looking quite like a dog at ease.

"..."

Rhode wrapped her arms around the thing's large muzzle, or at least tried to, and continued, ignoring the other Noah's priceless look of bewilderment. "He's _mine. _If you try to break him," She gave her 'uncle' a meaningful glare. "I'll be very, _very_, mad at you."

"... that's a dragon."

Rhode smiled wide. "Yup!"

" ... that's, a _dragon_." Tyki seemed to be having problems absorbing the information in front of him.

The girl didn't have any patience for his apparent meltdown, however. She winked at Isaac, and turned back to Tyki to emphasize her point. "He's not just _a_ dragon, uncle Tyki." She said in an educational tone of voice. "He's _my_ dragon."

Isaac snorted, ignoring the coming conversation. It did not matter what this other Noah thought of him. It did not matter what his Chosen was going to tell this kin of hers to accept him.  
All that mattered was what she wanted. The rest would work itself out.

The white dragon ignored Tyki when the man carefully touched him, and continued ignoring the man when he whipped his hand away as if touching something that burned.

"Rhode." The gray man said coldly. "Why can't I go through it?"

"..." The girl was twirling a strand of her violet hair absentmindedly, still sitting on Isaac's left limb like it was a chair.

"_Rhode_." For once Tyki used a tone any other adult would use on an adolescent withholding information.

"Well, why do _you_ think you can't?" Rhode said in a tone that clearly said the fact should be obvious.

Well, the fact was obvious. Just as he could not phase through Allen Walker's left hand, Lavi's hammer, or Kanda's sword, he could not pass through this beast.

What the dragon was made of ... was not of this world.

So, it was Innocence.

Tyki took a step backward, and Rhode pouted. "Tyki, don't tell me you're _scared_."

The man grimaced, and tried to refrain from taking a second step. He answered his 'niece' with a question, though it sounded more like a demand. "What's going on Rhode."

"I told you--" The girl said loudly, as if trying to get the information to Tyki's brain through his thick skull. "--_he's mine_."

The dragon sighed, and Tyki almost jumped at the sound. Almost.

"Does the Earl know about this?" Mikk demanded.

Rhode ignored the question, scrapping at the snow with the heel of her shoe.

Tyki waited, breath visible in the cold air. Tyki tried to keep from forcing Rhode too much; he knew that would just make her angry. No one wanted Rhode Camelot angry.

He eyed the dragon, knowing that the other Noah would answer when she felt like it. It was a big thing, but the neck was long, and the white, slim scales looked weak around the bottom of the jaw, he noted.

And, the scales also thinned around the areas of the most movement, like where the wings joined the body.

The white beast yawned, displaying the soft pink tissue of the mouth, and the hard ivory bone of the teeth within. Tyki furrowed his nose at the smell of raw meat on the beast's breath, and turned his head away.

Rhode decided to answer, and her reply sent Tyki for another loop. "Nope."

**End 26. To the Road's Beginning**

AN: So, to some it up:

-The Exorcists are out on missions again (I have some fun stuff planned for that)

-Rhode apparently hasn't told anyone (Noah or otherwise) about her new 'pet' until now. (Maybe this stems from the fact that she wants the 14th back, but the Earl will probably want to kill him ...)

I'm sorry this chapter is short, and doesn't give much, but that's just the way it rolled out. The next chapter will probably center on Allen's mission, and what happens from where they are now ...

... reviews are love, and help feed my dragons and inspiration. So, instead of reading and leaving (I'm taking to YOU, you 50+ people that read this and then don't review!) please leave a note.

... now, Summer is fast approaching, and it is my 'slump' time, when I write a million notes and scribble a few hundred ideas down. So updates will be slower ... sorry!

And: GAH. This chapter was too short ...

-knux33


	27. Almost There

**27. Almost There**

Link stomped behind Allen, growing ever more annoyed with their present situation. Innocent twigs and plants on the abandoned road they walked along felt the brunt of the inspector's silent wrath, snapping underneath the pressure of his boots.

The German was sure they were getting close to the two mile mark, and there was no sign of any sort of town, or even people. Just this god forsaken pathway going on forever, splitting the dark forest surrounding them in two.

Howard glared at the back of Allen's head, wondering why he had let the Exorcist talk him into this predicament in the first place. It was illogical to follow an obviously unused path looking for people where they would probably find none, wasting both time and energy.

Never mind that there really wasn't much else they _could_ do ...

The Inspector almost tripped over a root, and he savagely kicked at the protruding bit of wood with all his might, taking out his frustrations on the poor, defenseless tree limb.

It was then that Allen stopped, and glanced at the silently raging Inspector over his shoulder, sparkling gray eyes curious. "Link?"

"What, Walker?" Howard continued destroying the little bit of wood that had dared to try to trip him in his moment of inattention, his voice surprisingly even considering his current temper.

"I think we're almost there."

Beyond, hidden by dark trees and the setting sun, the two could only just make out the outline of square buildings and flat, treeless fields.

Picking up their pace, they made it to the small, isolated town relatively quickly. But ... when they got there ...

Hoard silently gazed at the empty streets, and doors shut tight. No windows were open, and not a single living thing was in sight.

All was still, and boarded down, as if waiting for an invading force to sweep by.

Allen walked closer to one of the shut doors, and knocked.

Link was more interested in the fact that there were fresh shoe prints on the ground, quite a lot of them actually, and all of them seemed to lead away from the town, down a road to the east.

As if all of the towns inhabitants had packed up their homes and left for some unknown and urgent reason.

"Walker--" Link began, intending on getting himself and his charge back to the dragon as fast as possible, not liking the signs and wanting the extra reassurance of the beast. But, it was at that point that the door Allen had knocked on (the door on one of the many houses looking so like turtles within their shells) opened.

A face so wrinkled it looked like a raisin stared at the knocker with yellow-tinted eyes. "Wha' da ya want?" The grizzled old face demanded, most of the old body hidden behind the door.

Allen swallowed, and opened his mouth in greeting. "Excuse the intrusion sir, but we're a little lost."

Howard wanted to pull the idiot away from the devolved looking specimen of a human being, but restrained himself. They _did_ need directions.

The old man eyeballed the freaky-looking boy, and then ogled at the cardboard-cut-out German. "Did ya s'ay dir-ec-tons?"

Allen nodded, trying not to stare at the gapping holes where teeth should have been. The old man, patches of frizzy hair sticking out in all directions while his beard was bristling all over his cheeks, creeped a little farther out of his door way.

"Goin' some place, ain't ya?" The old man smelled of stale smoke and ripe sweat, and Allen strained to not breathe the horrible stench in through his nose.

"Y-yes sir, we're going to--" The Exorcist looked imploringly at Link for the town's name.

"Albington." Link supplied, staying where he was. He didn't want to get too close, or too far.

"Old Alb-ton, eh?" The old geezer licked his lips and opening the door all the way, apparently more at ease now that he knew why the strange duo were knocking on his door at sunset. "Well, ya all ain't far now."

Allen blinked. "We're not?"

Link, too, was amazed. One would think that holding a map upside down would take them _away_ from their destination, not _to_ it. Well, maybe since Allen had been the one holding said map, the upside-down condition of it negated Allen's uncanny luck at getting himself (and anyone who was with him) lost, and actually lead them the right way ... go figure.

"All ya'll gots ta do now is fall'er that there road," The smelly man pointed down the road to the east, where all the footprints lead too. "Ta the sea, and ya'll will get there jus' fine."

The old man then slammed the door in Allen's face, apparently not wanting to give the impression that he was a nice person, or any nonsense like that.

"An' ya'll best get a goin' soon!" The muffled voice of the hermit hollered. "Ya don' wanna be stuck out on ta road at night!"

And then there was silence.

Link and Allen shared a look.

"So," The Exorcist asked the Inspector, walking away from the house and towards Link. "Should we follow the road, or go get Speck first?"

"I believe we'd best follow the ..." Howard seemed at a loss at what to call the person Allen had just conversed with. "_Man's_ advice, and get going."

The Exorcist gazed from the almost-empty town around them to the road to the coast showing clearly where most of the small town's inhabitants had gone.

Sure, the mission specifics had already told them that people from all over the area were seemingly gathering at Albington, going in small crowded groups and not leaving the place once they got there, but that didn't prepare the two for the seemingly abandoned place.

Walking down the road the old man had pointed out (sun coming closer to completely setting all the while, making the pair feel strangely rushed) the forest seemed to slowly open up into a more open thing, and less encroaching. No doubt because of people gathering their firewood from here, keeping the forest floor more open and free of extra debris that would have crowded the ground otherwise.

The road was hard, sturdy dirt, pound flat over the years of use, and easy to travel on. The forest continued to follow them, however, masking great expanses of the sky and blocking most of the viewpoint forward, no matter how well kept it was.

But, eventually, the forest seemed to thin out and disappear, leaving the travelers to continue on their path without it, a few forlorn-looking trees lingering along to give a small token of accompaniment to the rolling hills and carpeting grass.

And then, over one last rise, waiting to great them, was the city, the sea, and one hell of a crowd milling about, pitching up makeshift housing for the night and getting in … line?

At least a hundred people buzzing about, in line.

It seemed … anticlimactic.

Hesitantly, they approached the organized mob. Well, Allen was hesitant. Howard marched into the flood like a police officer, eyes roaming and back as straight as a pole.

The murmurs and conversations of the crowd made no sense to the two.

"Is it true—?"

"—I think they call it 'Lord,'"

"Their so quiet, how do they know—?"

"—really God?"

Allen gave Link a sideways glance, and adjusted his black jacket nervously. People turned to look at the Exorcist and Inspector, blinking at the strange attire, and unfamiliar faces. But, the people quickly shrugged at the unique two and got back to whatever they had been doing, be that building makeshift tents or waiting.

The line of pedestrians stretched down the remainder of the road into the heart of the town, far out of Allen's own range of sight, and ended somewhere ahead.

Questing, they went forward, and the sun set behind them.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Ms. Lee?" The Finder said respectfully, offering out a hand to take her suitcase as she disembarked from the train that had brought her here.

The Exorcist smiled, and handed over her luggage gladly. It wasn't much of a bother to her, but she had long since learned to let the Finders do the small tasks they wanted to. Apparently, a majority of the Finder population found the chance to formally meet an Exorcist almost the same as meeting someone famous.

Well, they found it that way until the awe wore off anyway.

Lenalee thanked white clothed man and followed him as he guided her to the carriage that would take them from the train station in Kolpino to the town that, supposedly, had three young women disappear, the most out of the entire area surrounding Ladoga Lake: Chliselbourg.

The majority of the people around the station were speaking in Russian, and Lenalee tried to stick close to her guide. She had gotten lost in a foreign country once, when she had strayed too far from her Finder.

That had been a long time ago, when she had only begun to get used to missions, but the experience had been strong enough to leave a lasting impression.

They got into the waiting carriage quickly, where a second Finder was waiting with the reigns in her hands, horses stomping the compact ground of the road with an eagerness to be gone.

"I am Fyodor," The man introduced himself, after stowing away Lenalee's suitcase. "And our driver is Anna."

Lenalee mentally sighed. Her brother must have assigned the woman to be the 'bait' in this mission, even though the Exorcist herself could be both the bait and trap.

The 'bait' being 'virgin sacrifice.'

Well, female virgin sacrifice anyway. No males had gone missing from the area fitting the 'virgin' status yet.

"It will be a while until we reach Chliselbourg," The Finder said, having a native's tongue with the Russian pronunciation and getting comfortable on his side of the carriage. "And we may have to stay at an inn along the way, depending on how fast Anna gets us moving."

As if on cue, the vehicle started moving, and the slightly-bumpy ride began.

Lenalee decided to try to get to know her escorts better instead of sitting in silence. She put on a smile. "So, what's it like at Ch-Chis ... _Chlis_--" The Exorcist herself had trouble with the foreign name, but she smiled, remembering Speck and the dragon's own trouble with words.

Fyodor just smiled. "Chliselbourg." He slowly pronounced, and Lenalee tried to copy his enunciation with little success.

The Finder laughed, and Anna yelled something Russian down from outside. The man opened up the small window sized door in the wall of the carriage used specifically for talking to the driver, and hollered something back, still in Russian, and was rewarded with an answering boom of a laugh.

Lenalee waited as Fyodor closed the small window used for communication, and smiled apologetically. "Anna doesn't know much English; I hope we do not offend--"

"No, not at all!" The Exorcist reassured the Finder. "I know how hard it can be to learn a new language."

"Oh?" Fyodor asked. "You sound very apt at what you speak now."

"Years of practice can do that."

Fyodor pondered for a moment. Eyes thoughtful, he asked: "What's it like?"

"To be an Exorcist?" Lenalee had been expecting the question. It was one of the things she had gotten used to as the years went by. She shrugged. "A lot like being any other sort of soldier, I believe."

Fyodor nodded in understanding at the vague answer, removing his hood, revealing wavy brown hair peppered with gray and white, highlighting his blue eyes. He had an average face, with small crow's feet wrinkles around his eyes.

Lenalee was surprised, the man's lively voice had made him seem younger, though he was clearly in his fifties. Fydor laughed at her expression. "Expecting someone younger? Don't worry, I get that all the time. It seems most people my age aren't usually as lively as I am."

"Or traveling in speeding horse drawn carriages." Lenalee pointed out as the vehicle rattled along the road.

"Good observation." The Finder's smile opened into a laugh again. "One my back will nag me about in the morning."

Muffled Russian words were yelled from outside, and Fyodor opened the door/window yet again, and answered Anna's supposed question.

Then the two seemed to be arguing.

The old man squawked as Anna said something supposedly insulting, saying something back that was probably a return insult.

Lenalee didn't even have to understand a word of it. She just laughed, reminded of her own friends, and their own playful arguing. Though, there was usually more death threats involved when Kanda was included.

Even when nothing was like home, a few things could still seem comfortingly familiar. Arguing, for instance; even in a different language.

Lenalee laughed. She really couldn't help it, the two sounded like they were used to arguing, and well worn into which insults they would say.

Fyodor sputtered to a stop as Anna said something that sounded scathing, and the Exorcist couldn't help but laugh all the harder at the old man's expression.

"What did she say?" Lenalee managed once she had stopped laughing, catching her breath.

"That I was an old fool for insisting to meet you at the train station instead of waiting for Anna to pick you up alone to bring you to Chliselbourg, and doubly foolish for insisting that we only stop once back along the way, instead of making the trip in two days." The older man muttered, looking like a child that had just been rebuked, but knew that he deserved the scolding.

The loud female voice from outside said something else, and Fyodor winced. "Anna has now informed me that she will no longer help me do my laundry if I don't tell her what we are saying right now."

As the man turned to continue talking to the Finder driving, Lenalee couldn't help but smile. At least the ride wouldn't be boring. Though, it may be a tiring trip for Fyodor, the Exorcist thought, who had to say everything twice, and in alternating languages.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen strained on his tip-toes, trying to see over the heads of the people in the line ahead of him, but failing miserably. Well, he was a beansprout, and even Link (who was only three centimeters taller) couldn't see far over the people in front of them.

The only thing that was _obvious_ was that the line led into the largest building in the small town; the church.

The most _obscure_ fact about the whole affair was what exactly was _at_ the end of the line.

And when questioning the other people around them, Allen and Link found that the most popular reason for the masses of people to be in this line was to meet the 'holy messenger' that had supposedly taken residence within the church, and to see if 'what the others were saying was true.'

'What the others were saying' wasn't clarified, and the buildings of the town around the winding and twisting rope of people were shut up tight, with flat eyes peaking out at the crowded street from curtained windows and cracked doors.

Allen wondered what the people living in the town must feel about the hoards at their doorsteps, and how they thought about the so-called 'miracle' taking place.

The only thing Howard was wondering about was how they had yet to find a Finder.

Strange events are reported by Finders, and then when the Exorcist (plus any other necessary personal) shows up, the Finder gives any additional information that is needed for the mission.

Most the time, the Finders go back to Headquarters and get the Exorcist themselves, but now, because of the speedy transportation given by a very large set of wings, less time had to be spent in travel.

But it was still common courtesy for the Finder to _at least show up_ ...

Allen gave up trying to look over the crowded line, and inched to the side, trying to get a glimpse of the church by looking _around_ the people in front of them.

"Link!" The Exorcist said excitedly. "I think we're almost there!"

The Inspector quickly poked his head around the people ahead of them as well, and saw that Walker was right; the large building was unmistakably a church.

And, sitting nearby and watching the crowd slowly be swallowed one-by-one into the old building's massive double doors, was their Finder.

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee vaguely wondered how long the two could continue talking. Sure, the girl was used to small (or large) arguments here and there, but the two Russians seemed to have more stamina than any other pair of arguers she had ever known.

They had been talking loudly in Russian for at least an hour, and that was only after Fyodor had forgotten to translate some of the argument to her and just seemed to forget there was a third occupant inside the carriage at all.

Well, until the carriage started to slow and the two Finders barked a few last words before Fyodor closed the small 'communication' window one last time, informing Lenalee that they were now at the inn they were going to stop at for the night, before pressing onto the village in the morning.

They disembarked from the vehicle, which had come to a complete stop, and Lenalee looked upon the large wooden building they were to stay in as Anna unhitched the horses with the help of a stable boy and led the tired beasts to the neighboring stable.

The stable, in fact, was the only neighboring building visible; old dark trees and tangled bush plants obscured any view farther than twenty yards from the inn or road, giving the night-covered seen something akin to a horror story.

Lenalee just pulled her arms together, as if cold, though she was merely nervous, and followed the old Finder as he carried her suitcase inside the sturdy inn bearing a Russian sign above the doorway that she couldn't even begin to understand.

Once within Fyodor quickly spoke to the bear-like man in charge (both were seemingly old friends, as they greeted one another with hearty hand shakes and hugs) and the Finder had the Exorcist inside her room without any hassle from the innkeeper or anyone else.

"This will be your room Ms. Lee," Fyodor said, placing her suitcase horizontally on top of the medium-sized dresser the room had. "And if you have any questions, Anna and I will be right across the hallway."

Lenalee smiled, thanked the man, and the Finder was gone from the room.

With a sigh, she sat down on the large bed(too large for one person alone; her brother had probably demanded that she get the largest and most private room within the entire inn ... again.). Lenalee looked around at the room she had been escorted to.

It was nice, but the Exorcist still frowned at the extra space. She had gotten so used to being in a group that the large space only served as a reminder that she was far from 'home' and in a strange place yet again.

She got ready for bed, not in the mood for dinner or the foreign company just yet. Lenalee knew all of the things that seemed overwhelming now would seem just a little better in the morning.

**END 27. Almost There**

AN: Hmm, school's almost back, and I'm out of my Summer Slump. Sorry for the long break, but I think I needed it. And I didn't have any Internet (or very little at all), so I wouldn't have been able to update even if I wanted to ...

Anyway, the next chapters will focus mainly on aspects the dragon's have that haven't been addressed yet, and on a few colors you haven't seen yet either ...

Happy anniversary everyone! (DRAGONS LIES was fist posted one whole years ago ... my how time flies ...)

So, Review! The dragons are threatening to eat my books if they don't get nice, edible reviews soon!

-knux33


	28. Gray Clouds

**28. Gray Clouds**

Sometimes, dreams are comforting. At other times, scary. And then, there are the just plain strange dreams, that don't seem to make any sense at all.

Lenalee decided that she was having one of the strange ones.

Dripping, raining gray clouds hung all around her, feeling slimy to the touch, like slugs. Going through the wet, slug clouds was impossible; the normally insubstantial objects were as solid as wet, glistening stone walls, though they broke and parted before winds like normal clouds ...

Very strange.

The girl make her way forward, going where the clouds parted and avoiding where the gray things stood stagnate, trying to find her way through the shifting, slimy maze.

Her boots clicked hollowly on the rough stone beneath her feet, and splashed when she stepped into one of the many pools the 'clouds' formed.

And then she heard voices through the clouds around her, as if their were others lost in here too. She was just about to try looking for a way towards the voices (some sounding familiar, like the Russians she had met today) when something gray flew above the cloud-walls, right above her.

A very_ familiar_ speckled something.

_Speck?_ Lenalee thought, confused.

As if the thought had been a spoken word, the dragon stopped and turned, circling above like a bird, and blinking at her. Then, the dragon smiled and shrunk, landing on her shoulder comfortably.

Acting as if shrinking were a perfectly normal thing to do inside a dream the dragon licked her cheek. '_Lenalee! Very nice to see you!_'

"Speck ..." The Chinese girl gathered her thoughts for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

The speckled gray blinked, then nonchalantly licked at his gray back with darker gray speckles. '_I'm dreaming, silly._'

"No,_ I'm _dreaming." Lenalee said firmly. "What are you doing in my dream?"

Speck looked at her, intrigued. '_But, if you didn't want to share, why did you call me?_'

The Exorcist had to think about that one. "I didn't call you--"

'_You thought my name._' The gray explained, and Lenalee realized that the dragon wasn't talking aloud, or even speaking in his normal, jumbled, manner.

"How are you doing that?" She asked, shifting from one foot to the other. There was no where for her to sit down; everything around them was wet.

"Doing? Talk?" The shrunken gray asked aloud, and Lenalee nodded. "Sorry ..." The dragon was bashful. '_This is how I usually talk, but people can't hear me._'

"I can hear you." Lenalee pointed out, noticing that the sluggish gray clouds around them had grown still. She didn't like how the clouds seemed to trap her where she was.

Speck nodded. "Yes," _but that's because most people listen more when they're sleeping._'

The gray, slimy 'walls' were inching closer. The dragon snorted at the masses that were colored like he was, and looked around. '_And, it's hard to travel this way._' The gray flapped his wings, and the moving air pushed the clouds farther away. Satisfied, the dragon settled back on Lenalee's shoulder. '_But, I had to make sure of something._'

"Really?" The Exorcist asked, wondering if all of this really _was_ a dream.

'_I thought I heard someone like me talking._' Speck explained, ears perked forward. '_Someone Gray, but they were quiet._'"Whispering." '_So, I thought I might be able to find them here ..._'  
The ears drooped. '_I haven't found anybody besides you._'"No one."

Lenalee was about to answer, to cheer up the little dragon, when they both heard something close by.

A laugh. It was a sound the Exorcist had heard before, but the dragon had not.

The gray clouds trembled, and Lenalee frantically looked all around her, trying to find where the sound had come from.

The gray on her shoulder squawked as she moved unexpectedly. "What?!" '_What's wrong? Why are you afraid?_'

"That ... sounded like Rhode." She whispered, tense.

'_Noah?_' "Rhode?"

The clouds stopped shaking, and resumed their normal, drifting movements. The laughter grew farther away, and the Exorcist realized that the Noah had somehow passed them by without notice.

Lenalee breathed a sigh of relief, and Speck watched her curiously. "Noah Rhode bad?"

"Very bad." The girl said, remembering all of the times she had encountered Rhode Camelot. They had not been good times. "Why was she ... here?"

The gray cocked his head, then shrugged. "Dreaming." '_And Allen has known her too ..._'Speck thought for a moment. '_Pain, on many levels, Allen knows her for. But, he also feels pity for one such as her._'

Lenalee eyed the creature on her shoulder sceptically. "How would you know what Allen thinks?"

The dragon looked away from her, at the swirling gray mist. '_How would I not? I AM a gray ... or ... do __you not know what that means?_'

The girl glared. "I don't like it when people answer a question with another question."

Speck scratched the back of his neck with a claw, unused to such high hostile emotion directed at himself. The dragon decided to just answer with what gray dragons could do in general. '_Gray is ... Grays are ... We speak with our minds._'

"... And?" Lenalee wanted a better explanation.

'_When I first met Allen, I bit him ... I-I didn't MEAN too!_'The gray tried to explain himself, and the Exorcist heard the dragon's emotional distress at the memory.' _But ..._' "Scared." '_And because of that, I got a good look at the inside of his head. It's actually a good thing I have such a connection. I wouldn't have dared to do anything like it, except by accident. And now, I can Know if he if he ever needs help without actually being there._'

"So, instead of acid like Gremlin, or fire like Ammy--"

"Mind." The gray nodded to her.'_Like now. Because we are talking, I know you are nervous about being back alone after so long, but will endure it just because you know you will get to go home after._'

The gray cocked his head.'_But ... I do not know of any color of dragon that eats people ... and what is a Fyodor/Anna?_'

Lenalee was perplexed. "If you can read minds, wouldn't you be able to tell?"

Speck sighed. "E-_mot_-ion."'_I do not look so much at thoughts like words to be translated, but emotions to be felt. Emotions are linked to pictures, and pictures with emotion give more true information than words could ever express._'

"Is that why you have so much more trouble talking than the others?" She asked, fascinated at what it would be like if everyone could talk that way.

The gray nodded enthusiastically, almost falling off of Lenalee's shoulder. '_Words are slow, and awkward, and do not make sense. But I use them anyway._'

"Because people can't 'hear' you when you talk like this?"

Speck seemed to wilt a little, then shook his head. '_I could make people hear me this way if I wanted to._'

The Exorcist was curious. "Then why don't you? It seems a lot easier for you to talk this way."

The gray sighed, looking sad. '_It would not be healthy for the people to be talked to this way too much._'

"You're talking to me—"

'_You're just dreaming. There's a difference between the sleeping and waking mind. Besides, It's hard enough, Knowing just Allen ..._'

Lenalee looked at the gray dragon as she never had before. 'Talking' to him this way, he sounded for more knowledgeable than he normally did. And ... "What is it like, 'Knowing' Allen?" The way the gray had trailed off sounded strangely suspicious to her ears.

Speck seemed to think silently to himself, before jumping off of the girls shoulder to fly into a nearby cloud and disappear.

But, in a moment the dragon was back again, trailing wisps of the cloud at his wingtips. He flew round and round, leaving the thin smoke-like lines behind him like fragile threads.

The dragon weaved the circle around Lenalee again and again until the bits of cloud had become like a fog, thick and blinding around them.

'_Now_,' the gray announced as he settled back onto Lenalee's shoulder.'_I will show you Allen as I met him._'

The fog seemed to grow thicker, turning the entire landscape into a seemingly blank, white, sheet.

But, the Exorcist saw, something began to swirl inside the vapor.

'_I met Allen as he first found himself, the deepest memory of 'self' Allen had._' Speck said, and Lenalee saw a person begin to form from the fog. A small stumbling person ...

A child.

She blinked at the ragged clothing, realizing she had never seen clothes in such a state still being worn. The longish brown hair was uncut and dirty, reinforcing the fact that the child was obviously uncared for.

The left arm hung limp, and was bandaged in a unprofessional way, as if the little urchin had tried to hide some horrible wound.

It was when the empty, lost, gray eyes looked into hers that Lenalee really admitted to herself that she knew who the sad creature was.

"_Allen_?" Never in the time she had known the smiling white haired boy would she guess that he had a beginning such as this.

'_No. Not the Allen you know now. This is when Allen had No-Name. When he was lost. The deepest 'Allen' I found._'The child stumbled away, disappearing back into the fog. '_And, as I looked more throughly, I Knew Allen, and why Allen is Allen._'

Lenalee stared at where the young Allen had vanished, silent. Speck's reptilian lips curved downward into a small frown, worried. _Are you all right, Lenalee?_

"No." She said quietly. "No, I'm not. I want to wake up."

'_I'm sorry._' Speck said, looking sadly into her eyes. '_I forgot, you're not like me. Talking like this, can be Bad for a Not-Gray. I'll let you go now._'

With a blink, Lenalee opened her eyes, finding the cold, gray landscape gone, and only the smallest light filtering in through her window at the Russian inn.

The girl sat up rubbing her eyes, only to find that the sun was only just beginning to rise, and the rest of the inn was quiet and still. Outside the window though, the exorcist saw Anna

getting the horses ready, and the stable boy talking to her as he helped.

The sky was beautiful, clear, blue. Not a cloud in sight.

Lenalee wondered if it really had been a dream, and if Speck really could get into people's heads, talking far more clearly with his mind than with his mouth.

Pondering, she realized that she knew one thing for sure: it wouldn't be the strangest thing that had happened to her. And it wasn't like she hadn't had strange dreams before ...

With a shake of her head, the Exorcist dusted away the last worries of nightmares, and decided to get ready to go.

She did have a job to get to after all.

**//DRDRDR//**

Link tried to hide how aggravated he was. It was near the middle of the night, he and Walker had been waiting in that God-forsaken line of people for the past hour or so, and the Finder had been sitting _right at the entrance to the stupid building all along_.

The dark night highlighted the church, standing in the center of the darkened town, torches and lamps hung around the entire structure.

The building looked like an island of light in the darker night; the trail of people filtering in a strange sort of procession from the dark.

The Finder led them quickly around the side of the building, talking about how he had talked the 'leader of the nutcases' into letting them in the back way to talk to him privately instead of having to go through the long way, which was the line-up stretching from the church to the outskirts of town, where the majority of the crowds were setting up camp for the night.

Apparently, there was a dragon inside the religious residence. The Finder hadn't seen hide-or-scale of the creature, but the religious fanatics had apparently set up shop here, proclaiming the appearance of the dragon to be some sort of 'sign,' and the priests had run to every nearby town, proclaiming the arrival of the 'message bringer.'

Anyway, large amounts of people had come to see the supposed 'messenger,' dragging along their friends, family, neighbors, innocent passerbys ...

Well, when the groups arrived, they were asked by one of the 'guides' (Or 'religious fanatics,' as the Finder so dubbed them) to form into an orderly line, as only so many could see the 'messenger' at once.

So, they formed a line. And more people came, and were also asked to calmly and orderly get into the line (no pushing or shoving please) and so on, and so forth.

Allen listened, looking around as they walked around the large building to it's back, and one of the side doors being guarded by a man looking to be one of the 'religious crazies' the Finder seemed so determined to label mentally unstable, even though he himself was working for a 'religious' organization ...

One thing bothered the Exorcist as the silent priest clothed in dark gray robes let them in, before locking the door audibly behind them. Though the white haired boy had seen large groups going into the church, he had yet to see anyone walk _out_. Well, besides the gray priests anyway.

Howard didn't seem worried, just subtly agitated. Allen didn't know if the Inspector had also noticed the lack of human beings leaving or not, but didn't want to talk about the fact aloud while the priest guided them to the 'messenger.'

Allen noticed something else that bothered him. The priest seemed to be suspiciously ... silent. The religious man hadn't greeted them, or said any other word since letting them into the building.

No noise was present besides the clacking of their boots onto the old wooded floor of the small doorless hallway, and the seemingly endless clattering the the Finder under his breath. But the words didn't sound have as loud or sarcastic now, it sounded like the white-clothed man was almost whispering random words under his breath just to keep the suddenly suspicious silence at bay.

Allen rubbed at his left arm, extremely uneasy. The church hadn't been that big from an outside perspective, surely the large crowds of people inside should be making noise. Some noise; any noise—

The hall ended at a large, regal looking oak door, blocking their passage. The priest moved to unlock the door, and the silence became absolute, save for the soft clicking of the lock's mechanisms as the door was opened. The priest motioned for them to go through.

"Not_ all_ of you." Allen almost jumped at of his skin at the sound coming from the previously mute mouth of the religious guide. The priest was looking at the Finder and Inspector who had already stepped forward to go through the door, flat eyes disproving. "Only _one_ may be admitted."

The Finder fidgeted where he stood, but Link's eyes narrowed, just as disapproving. "And why is _that_?" The Inspector copied the priest's slow emphasis, letting his annoyance show.

"_Because_," The flat-eyed man said back, "The Messenger may only be viewed by _soul_ individuals, not _groups_. Those are our rules, and if you do not abide by them, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to _leave_."

Was it just Allen, or did Link's eyebrow just twitch?

The said Inspector stated, in a calm and official manner while gesturing towards the Exorcist: "Allen Walker is under my charge. I cannot possibly let him go into an unknown situation under doubtable circumstances."

The Finder squirmed all the more as the priest glared at the Inspector, eyes looking far too unemotional. The silence was tense in the few moments that pasted, making the sort time seem longer as the group stood there, undecided, before the open door.

A small, forced, smile appeared on the priest's face, and he moved his arm in a robotic gesture of welcome towards the open door, eyes still flat and cold. "Understood. You two may enter together. But that is the _only_ the leniency we will allow."

The Finder gulped, and watched the two go through the door before the priest closed the oaken passage and locked it yet again. The man in white clothing, once so scathing of the strange priests that spread the word of their 'messenger' so quickly and whole-heartedly, was now chilled with fear.

The religious man turned the flat eyes on the shaking Finder, the fake smile still on his face slowly sliding off, and grabbed the Finder by the shoulder in a robotic motion as the white clothed man tried to step backward. "I _believe_," The man who did not sound like any normal man said, "That you should wait _here_, until it is your turn to see the messenger."

"I-I'll just wait for the E-Exorcist and Insp-pector outside—," The now scared stiff Finder said, but stopped as the grip on his right shoulder became painfully tight.

It seemed that individual choices were no longer his to make.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen squinted, trying to force his eyes to adjust to the dark room he and Howard Link now found themselves in.

The door was closed behind them, and Allen fought down the urge to turn and escape the dark, enclosed space. All he did was grip his left arm all the tighter, realizing they were not alone in the dark.

He heard the strike of a match, and a small oil lamp was lit on the opposite end of the room, revealing a second priest in smoky gray robes was guarding yet another wooden door, though this religious man had the same flat eyes as the previous one.

Because of the similar clothes and eyes, Allen found the two looked horribly alike, making him wish for a clear way to escape all the more, not a series of locked doors.

But the man opened the door without comment, even though the last priest had made a big deal about the supposed 'rules' they had. Allen didn't want to stay inside the small in-between room with the silent man any more than was necessary and just want to get the mission over and done with.

Through the door, was the main chapel of the church. The many rows of pews had been removed, and candles on stands burned at every wall and corner, giving the large space enough wavering light to reveal the creature curled up where the altar was usually supposed to rest.

Dragon eyes watched the two enter, flat and observing. Gray scales and wings were flat against the great beast's body, speckled with splotches of darker tones ...  
Allen would have mistaken the creature for Speck, if it hadn't been looking at them with it's eyes quite so ... so ...

Cold.

But, it was the same color. And size. Judging by the horns on it's head instead of frills, it was also male.

A young boy was sitting next to the dragon, scribbling down on a piece of paper, looking determined with whatever he was drawing. He looked to be six or seven, by Allen's perspective. Still slightly soft with baby fat, and black hair uncombed.

The child jerked his head up and looked around, like someone had called his name, though the large chamber was silent. The little blue eyes found Allen and Link, and the childed scrambled to stand up.

Once standing, the child said in an official tone that didn't match his comically large gray robes or messy short black hair: "Welcome, Lord Herus is glad that you were able to come."

Allen and Link shared a look.

"And who," Howard said, just as officially, almost making Allen laugh, even in the feeling of slight danger inside the chamber. "is Herus?"

The child blinked, competently astonished. It looked almost like someone had just asked him which way was up. "Why, Lord Herus is _him_." The boy pointed at the dragon, who was still eying the pair with an obvious intensity. "And he says that he wants to know why you both are here."

Allen drew his eyebrows together in confusion. When had the dragon known they were here? Had one of the priests told the creature that they were coming before they got there?

Link just answered the question. "We're here on official business of the Black Order."

The child looked at Herus for a moment, then sat down, obviously making himself more comfortable. "Lord Herus wants to know what that business is."

The Inspector was silent for a moment. "We are here to bring Herus to the Order."

The dragon's stare turned colder. "Lord Herus says he wants to know why the Order wants him."

Link looked at Allen out of the corner of his eye, and they silently asked eachother the same question. Where was the kid getting these questions?

"We need him because he is a fragment of Innocence, and we are trying to gather all of the pieces of Innocence we can."

The child stared, obviously not understanding, but said: "Lord Herus would like to know whether you're here on Man's order, or the Akuma Maker's."

"Man's." Link and Allen both said at the same time, neither unsure about the answer.

The gray blinked at them, head tilted. "Lord Herus wants proof." The child said, looking longingly back at his paper and pen that rested a few feet away, seemingly growing bored with the conversation.

The Inspector looked at Allen, and the cursed teen knew what would be the surest proof. Stepping forward and walking up the few stairs to the slightly risen area where the local priest usually stood to give sermon, with Link right behind him, he removed the glove around his blacked left hand and held it towards the dragon for inspection.

The gray stared at the limb, and so did the six year old, though the child's eyes were widened in a mix of surprise and slight fear.

Herus stretch his head forward, poking Allen's hand with his nose, and licked it tenderly with the very tip of his large tongue, before pulling back away, seemingly satisfied, and eyes less cold.

The child was still staring, mouth now wide open.

Allen just put his glove back on quickly, avoiding looking at the obviously scared child. The gray dragon, Herus, settled down more comfortably on his spot upon the stone floor, nudging the child with his tail when he was done moving.

The kid just turned towards the dragon, closing his mouth, eyes still wide. They stared at eachother.

"Lord Herus would like you two to stay the night." The black haired child gulped, little arms coming together, like he was cold. "The priests will guide you to where you will sleep."

"What if we don't want to stay?" Allen said, really not thinking, just voicing the question aloud.

The child's eyes grew all the wider, like Allen had just asked if he could cut off a head and put it on a pike outside of the church to rot. "B-but Lord Herus said he wants you to!"

The child's life was quite centered around what 'Lord' Herus wanted and didn't want, apparently.

"And why exactly does he want us to stay?" Link said, calmly.

The black-haired boy stared at Link, eyes going strangely ... flat. His voice, once scared, turned into something monotone, like he was reciting words on a piece of paper before him. "_I _want_ you to stay, Human, because that way, the Other will come to _me_, instead of the other way around_."

Silence. Candles flickered.

The kid blinked, and slowly put his head in his hands. He seemed dazed.

Doors to the side exits opened, and more priests in gray came into the room, creeping down the isle in an orderly fashion, coming at some sort of silent order, all of their eyes flat and faces set and still, like masks.

"Lord Herus," The child said, whining. "I don't like it when you do that."

The gray only licked the child, but that was seemingly enough of an apology, because the kid hugged his large neck with his little arms after that, and then went back to his drawing, completely ignoring the Exorcist and Inspector being removed from the room by the priests, going with surprisingly little resistance.

The religious men robed in steely gray didn't talk and didn't seem to need to, Allen realized, as they led the new 'guests' to their quarters.

All of their eyes were flat, and the teen wondered if all of them were under the dragon's influence, somehow being used to do whatever Herus wanted. And then Allen wondered about Speck, and why his dragon wasn't like this one.

He'd have to remember to ask his gray later, when they found a way out of this mess.

**//DRDRDR//**

There was a horrible mess on the lawn, and Toma was trying to ignore the metallic smell the bloody pile radiated as he read his book, Sir Lewis standing beside him.

Lewis watched with a dull fascination as Larg swallowed, a bloody chunk of cow-flesh sliding down the dragon's throat.

They were both out out on the Black Order's Headquarters front lawn, and as far from the red dragon as Toma could get them without being out of eyesight or earshot. A large red dragon eating live things was not a particularly pretty sight, especially considering the fact that the red liked to sometimes 'play' with his food.

Lewis did not mind the tearing and internal organs rendered visible; he still liked the color red. It made him calmer.

"Toma?" The skeletal young man asked, dull brown eyes still on the feasting dragon.

"Yes, Sir Lewis?" The Finder looked up from his book, carefully avoiding the sight of the feeding dragon from his seat underneath a nearby tree.

"Why ..." The once-Crazy talked slowly, not used to having to gather his thoughts. "... are we," He gestured to Larg and himself with a wave-like motion, "here?"

Toma blinked. "Well, Sir Lewis, Larg is made of Innocence, a very rare substance." The Finder paused a moment, and Lewis nodded to show that he understood and was paying attention.

"There are a certain number of Innocence fragments scattered across the Earth, and we, the Black Order, are trying to bring all of the pieces together"

"Like ... a puzzle?" Toma nodded to Lewis, and the young man thought about this information for a long time.

By the time he opened his mouth to speak again, Larg was picking his teeth and Toma had gone back to reading his book. "We should find the red pieces."

"Excuse me?" Toma asked, closing his book.

Lewis nodded, but only to himself. His mind had made itself up already. "Larg?"

"Yes, Crazy?" The red asked, stretching.

"Can you find more red?"

The dragon grinned, teeth still partially stained with blood and flesh. "What kind of red are we talking about, Crazy?"

"Your red." Lewis clarified, brown eyes wider in his excitement. "Dragon reds."

Toma blinked, getting up hastily. "Now wait a minute, Sir—,"

"Of course!" Larg laughed. "I'd just take a bit of looking in the right places!"

Lewis smiled, walking up to the dragon, Toma stumbling behind him. "—Sir Lewis wait—!"

The still-partially-Crazy man climbed up the red dragon's arm like a monkey, Toma trying to grab onto Lewis's legs to pull him back down all the while. "_Sir Lewis_!"

The large red wings spread wide, and the dragon tensed. Toma, just behind Lewis and more than halfway to the center 'riding' position on the beast's back realized that he now had two choices; get on, or get off.

The Finder scrambled on behind Lewis, gripping the slick red scales and Lewis's back for all he was worth when he realized two things. One, he was going to be in big trouble leaving without so much as a communications golem to tell HQ where in the world they were.

And two, there was no harness on this thing. He could only grip Lewis with his hands, and the dragon's smooth back with his legs.

The dragon took off, leaving the earth and embracing the sky in one mighty leap, and flapping his wings in a horrifying up-and-down motion, forcing Toma to grab Lewis with all that he was worth, and to give a scream with all of his terror behind it.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen slowly rubbed his eyes, wondering if what he was seeing was really there. Link stood stiffly beside him, looking around the room, and ignoring what Allen was staring at with such amazement.

The Exorcist was currently gazing at the table-spread of food set in the middle of the room they were both to stay the night in, holding roasted chicken, ham, broccoli covered in melted cheese, grapes, some sort of cake—

Allen swallowed down the saliva building inside his mouth, trying not to drool.

—fried salmon, steak, steamed carrots, a variety of soups, oatmeal—

"_Walker_!" The strict voice shocked Allen back to the present, where he was about to pick up a spoon. Link pulled him away from the food. "You are _not _to touch edible substances placed in front of you by an enemy!"

The teen just looked at Howard like he was speaking in a completely different language; hand still stretched out to grab a utensil.

Link growled at Allen's uncomprehending stare and clarified. "You are _not _to _eat_ the _food_."

The cursed boy looked terrified. "_What_?"

The Inspector ignored the horrified Exorcist, still doing his own inspection of what was in the room.

The feast was set in the middle, and there was one bed on either side of the room on the wall opposite to the door. There were no windows or any other furniture besides the table with three set chairs, and the pair of beds.

Allen was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to be allowed to eat. "But Link, _I'm hungry_—," He whined like someone half his age.

"And these people are obviously _mentally unstable_. Do you really want to risk eating what they put in front of you?"

Allen thought about it for a moment, his eyes sliding a glance at the delicious, and warm food now and again. "... If I say yes, can I eat?"

"_No_!" Link almost shouted, but not quite.

At that moment, the door behind them creaked, and both of them whipped around to face the priest that had come inside. The man in gray (all of the men were the same age and had similar structures, making all of them seem the same and indistinguishable from on another) looked from Link, to Allen, to the untouched food upon the table.

"Is the meal unsatisfactory?" The dragon priest asked flatly.

"No," Link said, just as flat. "We're just not hungry." Allen looked pained when the Inspector said that, but remained silent.

The man was still for a moment. Then another gray robed person stepped into the room, though the new arrival was much shorter, and had identifying black hair.

"Lord Herus would like me to eat with you." The little child said, paper and ink pen held tightly to his chest like a safety blanket.

Allen looked hopefully at Link but the Inspector just motioned for him to sit down with a rough jerk of his head. As they seated themselves, one next to the other while the little boy sat down on the other side of the table, Howard whispered quietly to Allen: "Don't eat or drink _anything_."

The Exorcist sighed mentally to himself. And as the child put down his paper and pen carefully, grabbed a bowlful of one of the soups littering the table, and began to slurp the food down greedily, looking extremely famished. Allen tried not to groan.

Link watched the child suspiciously, noting everything the kid grabbed, and avoided.

The child watched them as he ate his late dinner nervously, seemingly confused. "Don't you want some?" He asked after a while. "It's really good."

Link shook his head in a 'no' while Allen just sat still, looking miserable.

The kid shrugged, and continued eating in the six-year-old haphazard fashion. "Do you have any names?" The child asked around a mouthful of roasted chicken.

"Allen Walker." The Exorcist said, and Link gave his name as well.

The black-haired boy swallowed. "My Mama named me Cain."

Howard looked a little confused, and Allen wondered why until the Inspector said: "And why did your mother name you that?"

Cain was suddenly solemn, a grape frozen halfway to his mouth.

Silence prevailed from a few moments.

"Because my brother died, and it was my fault." The child said, pushing his chair from the table and getting up. "I'm not hungry anymore." Cain said quietly, looking at his shoes, and left the room was quickly as he came.

Once the door was closed, Allen heard a lock click decisively. The Exorcist looked at the food longingly, though not as single-mindedly as before.

"How did you know his name meant something?" Allen asked Link as the Inspector got up from the table, obliviously still not trusting any of the food even though the kid had just stuffed his face full of most of it.

"In a religious community like this, a name like that_ had_ to mean something." The Inspector said, grabbing a few sheets from one of the beds and placing them on the floor closer to the other, supposedly not wanting to be too far away from his 'charge.'

Allen gave one sad look at the food, before crawling into his own bed, realizing the night must be mostly over by now. He began removing his boots and jacket, wanting to sleep in as little of his current clothing as possible.

Link was doing the same, though the Inspector folded his clothes neatly by his makeshift pallet, and Allen just tossed his boots and jacket towards a similar direction before shuffling underneath his covers.

The two settled down and laid in silence for a few moments.

"Link?" Allen spoke to the ceiling.

"Walker?" The Inspector answered, opening his eyes.

"Do you think Herus will be willing to go back with us to Headquarters peacefully tomorrow?"

"I don't know. He wasn't very clear about what he wanted." The Inspector answered after a moment, surprising Allen with his slight uncertainty. "If the dragon proves too uncooperative, we may have to escape by any means necessary, and return later with things in more in our favor."

"'Our favor?'"

"With more personnel, and a larger dragon."

"Oh."

The Exorcist grew silent, and Howard took a deep breath, trying to relax enough to fall asleep, or at least doze. It was hard. He gave up on sleeping with his instincts yelling '_danger_' at him a little before Allen asked sleepily: "What did you mean by a 'name like his'?"

"What?"

"Cain's name. Why should it mean something?"

Link sat up, propping his body upward with one elbow, surprised. "You've never been told the story of Cain and Abel?"

Half-open gray eyes looked at him from the bed, and a soft "Nope." was Allen's answer.

Howard sighed, and began the story, because there really wasn't anything else to say. "It was supposedly the first murder ever committed. Cain was the first born son of Adam, and Abel was the second. Abel took care of animals, and Cain raised crops.

When they both offered something of their own to God, God supposedly favored Abel's gift more than Cain's. Cain grew jealous of Abel, who was more beloved by God. And so, the older brother killed the younger, hiding the body in in his fields.

But God found out ..." Link trailed off, as he saw Allen's head nodding, dropping down onto the bed, eyes closing.

"Tha's sad ..." The Exorcist mumbled. "To be named something like that."

"Mm-hm." Howard agreed, wondering why any child would be named something like that, even if his brother died. A name was normally something given at birth, and most people didn't change them afterwards.

"So?" Was the next word Allen said, pulling his bedsheets closer and resting his eyes.

"'So' what, Walker?"

"You said God found out ... what did God do? You can't just stop in the middle of a story you know." The Exorcist said, wondering vaguely when he would get to eat again.

Link sighed, and finished the story. "God found out that Cain had killed his brother, and punished Cain by cursing him, so that he could no longer grow anything, and forced him to become a wanderer of the lands of Nod for the rest of his life. The end. Happy now, Walker?"

Allen didn't answer, he was too busy sleeping, and dreaming of eating wonderful things.

Howard sighed and stared at the ceiling, wondering how long it would be until dawn, and if he could possibly find it in himself to fall asleep when he knew there were those flat-eyed priests prowling outside their locked door ...

//DRDRDR//

Cain followed the hallway back to the main chamber of the church where Lord Herus was, being careful to be quiet. He knew Lord Herus didn't like noise all that much, because where he came from everything was always silent and still.

The kid reached into his pocket for his ink pen, only to find it wasn't there. After a few moments of silent panicking, the child remembered where he had last had his pen and paper: in the Guest's room, where he had eaten dinner with the two strange people that Lord Herus wanted to stay the night.

Cain groaned. That was his _only_ pen. Now he wouldn't be able to drawn anything until tomorrow when the Priests unlocked the door to bring the guests to the Dragon Hall again. And even then, he wouldn't be able to get his pen and paper because Lord Herus wanted him _especially_ to translate his words to these people, not any of the other Priests.

'_I will have one of the men get you another pen, if you really want to draw before tomorrow._' A voice whispered inside his head.

The child blinked, and then rushed to get the Lord Herus's chamber quickly. Cain liked talking to Lord Herus face-to-face; it hurt his head less.

Jogging into the Dragon Hall, Cain found Lord Herus finishing with another new person. The man wore strange, white clothing, and had the same silver cross sown into his jacket that the scary guest with the back hand had. But, this man's eyes were flat and empty; drained of whatever personality they had held before Lord Herus had 'touched' him.

One of the Priests took the man away, and the child forgot about him, bowing down low to the Lord before him.

'_I have told you before, you do not have to bow._' Lord Herus sighed into his mind.

Cain stood up straight, smiling. "But I like to." The child whispered, knowing Lord Herus wouldn't mind as long as he was quiet in his talking. "You're my Lord and messenger."

The gray blinked, eyes strange and alien, but warm to him. '_I bring messages of the End of the World, and you still bow to me_.'

"You're my Lord." Cain repeated in a whisper, "And my friend."

The dragon uncoiled, stepping down from the high floor onto the main layout. The child couldn't help but stare in awe at the beautiful creature before him. He'd never seen anyone so _big_ before; Lord Herus was bigger than the biggest horse he had ever seen, and far more graceful.

The slimy tongue slid out to rub against his cheek, and Cain felt the dragon's mind meld with his for a moment, giving the boy flashes of emotion that weren't his own.

_Fear _of a greater power than his own—_joy_ at having one so truly understanding at his side—_want_ for a home that was far, far away ... All of these were thoughts and feelings of Herus, not Cain, but the dragon shared them gladly, and Cain took it all in.

When the dragon finished, the child blinked, and wobbled a bit, trying to get used to his own feelings and thoughts again. They seemed small and insignificant compared to Lord Herus'.

Cain shook the gray clouds from his mind, and followed Herus back towards the high ground of the Dragon Hall, where they would sleep for what remained of the night and probably into the morning to make up for the extra time spent awake, meaning those that woke up early to get in line to meet Lord Herus would have to wait extra long to be shown in.

And, when they were shown in ...

Cain knew that Herus was doing a bad thing, using the hopeful people that came to make them into more 'Priests' to be sent farther and farther away, to spread his message as far as he could.

But the child also knew that the message had to be spread. The End of the World was coming, and people had to be ready for it. They had to prepare. They had to know to bow down before the _right_ Lords, like Lord Herus.

Not the wrong ones. The ones Lord Herus said were Bad.

Because the Bad ones would eat up all of the souls they could before the End brought the last battle to a close.

Cain Knew. Because Lord Herus Knew. Lord Herus had shown him, inside his head, the first day they met. The End would have a Battle, and then nothing after.

Cain shivered, and curled up next to Herus. The dragon was warm, and his scales were strong and slick, like some sort of special leather. The vision of the End had scared him, then and now, so the child shut the thoughts away, and listened to Lord Herus breathe until he was too tired to remember the pictures of blood, stained steel, and screaming.

**END 28. Gray Clouds**

AN: Ah, long chapter ... I feel content with this one.

Comments, Concerns? Anybody want to guess which dragon is eating the virgins down on Lenalee's side of the story?

... only 1 person reviewed last chapter ... am I doing something wrong? TELL ME.


	29. Two Shades of Gray

**29. Two Shades of Gray**

Allen blinked sleepily, and slowly stretched himself awake. The Exorcist was sure that he could have slept a little bit more, but his internal alarm clock wouldn't let him, forcing him to wake up now, and not later.

Peeking down over the side of the bed, Allen saw that Link was still sleeping, so the Exorcist tried to get up and dressed as quietly as possible, sneaking glances at the now-empty food table. Someone must have come in and cleared away the uneaten foods while they were sleeping, leaving the table sadly bare.

Allen fought down a sigh. His stomach felt like it was trying to hug his backbone while slowly eating itself, and the teen was doing his best to try and ignore it, but it was hard.

When _was_ the last time he had eaten? On the dragon ride here? That had been at least twelve hours ago, if not more, Allen realized with horror. And that had only been five sandwiches._ Five measly sandwiches_! His stomach growled at him, agreeing that the sandwiches had been scrawly little things, and that some real nourishment should be provided as soon as possible.

Howard stirred, and slowly sat up, awoken by the stomach's complaining.

Allen glared at his belly for waking up the Inspector, but just put on his jacket quietly while Link got up and dressed as well.

There was a knock.

The two weren't as disturbed by the flat eyes and unemotional face anymore, and just followed the dragon priest when the man saw they were dressed and motioned for them to come along. Link and Allen hesitated for a moment before following.

There really wasn't anything else they could do besides go along with whatever they were told to do until the gray dragon's motives were clear. It wasn't like they were truly trapped; Allen knew that if things became too dangerous he could always open a Gate of the Ark and they would escape in an instant; permission to do so granted or not.

The dark hallway ended, and they were let into the main chamber of the church yet again, the exit locked behind them. Link was obviously getting sick of locked doors, and he glared at the wooden obstruction for a moment before turning to face the gray dragon.

It seemed to be repeat of when they had first come into the room: Cain was settled on the floor with a pen and paper, drawing carefully, while Herus was coiled behind him.

But, unlike last night, light was shining through many stained glass windows that had been hidden by the dark, and the candles had been removed for the day.

The many colors from the widows and sunlight made the gray seem strangely molted with multiple colors reflecting off of his scales, giving color where it was usually absent, and changing the entire rooms atmosphere to something less forbidding.

The dragon glanced coldly at the two as they approached him and the child, and Cain seemed to jump up to attention, blinking at the two 'guests.'

"Lord Herus asks if your night was a pleasant one." The black-haired boy with blue eyes said, translating the gray's silent words.

"It was fine." Link answered, and Allen gazed at the picture the stained glass made. It was a woman, arms spread wide and eyes gazing tranquilly off to the side, looking somewhere into the distance with a simple blue and green background behind her.

"Lord Herus asks when he should be expecting more guests to arrive." The boy paused for a second, listening to someone only he could hear. "Guests like himself, particularly."

"Dragons." The Inspector said.

"Lords." Cain corrected, and nodded to himself. "Lord Herus would like to know the name and color of the guest, or guests, to be expected."

Howard knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. "And why would he want to know?"

"Well, appetites very, and it's always polite to call someone by their name." The child explained, quietly and whole heartedly. "A green or blue wouldn't eat much, and neither would a brown, though the browns like to have specially prepared foods. Reds, blacks, whites, and yellows don't mind plain things, but eat more than blues, browns, or greens.

Oranges and purples like lots of little things with lots of flavor; though, oranges like things with spice and purples like organ meat and sweet things. And then there are the copper, silver, bronze, and golds of course, though Lord Herus says they don't eat much food at all besides fish and fruits.

As you can very well guess, guessing would be too much of a hassle for us to try. So, what type of Lord are we to be expecting?" Cain finished, sounding slightly out-of-breath at the miniature speech.

Allen blinked, looking down from the artistic window in confusion at the thought of so many colors mentioned so quickly, but Link seemed to have no trouble processing the information.

"You can expect a ... 'Lord' to arrive here ... eventually." The Inspector spoke while the Exorcist was still figuring out what was just said.

"... And what are the Lord's color and name?" The child repeated the question.

Howard remained silent, and Allen copied his closed-mouth manner, understanding Link's reluctance to give away their 'wild card.'

Cain frowned at them, before closing his eyes, concentrating on something. "Is your Lord gray too?"

Silence. Allen felt a slight confusion at the correct guess.

"Is your Lord's name 'Speck?'"

More silence, and Allen felt a growing apprehension building in his chest yet again.

The child blinked, opening his blue eyes, and looked at the two in a tired manner; as if he had just finished running from the front of the church and back. "Lord Herus has had a talk with the other gray, and Lord Speck will arrive here very shortly."

Allen tried not to look surprised, and Link tried not to looked infuriated. Both failed in mixing degrees.

Cain scribbled a bit more, before watching the two reflect their dismay in different ways. He seemed curious, though not at their reactions. "Is your Lord a messenger too?"

Herus watched the child, obviously not the source of the question, and intrigued to see the child interacting on his 'own' with other people.

"No," Allen hedged, deciding he might as well answer, though Link glared at him. "Speck is just ... well, Speck."

"Why is your Lord named Speck?" Cain asked, looking every so often at the glove that hid Allen's 'unnatural' hand from sight with a mix of fear and puzzlement, slowly getting used to it.

"Because of his spots," Allen answered easily. "They looked like little freckles, or 'specks,' and the name seemed to fit, so ..." The Exorcist shrugged.

"Hmm ..." Cain doodled for a few moments, before asking another question. "Who is your Lord's favorite?"

Allen almost laughed as Link rolled his eyes at the question that had the obvious answer to both of them. "Me." The Exorcist answered.

Cain blinked at Allen, apparently confused. "But, how come you aren't with Lord Speck then?"

"Well, we didn't want to scare people," Allen explained, much to Howard's silently contained anger at information given away so freely. "and we were lost, so we had him land where we thought a town might be nearby so we could get directions.

When we found out we were actually _close_ to where we were trying to go," Allen actually laughed aloud at that memory, surprising all the occupants at his apparent ease of the situation at the moment. "we just came. I didn't expect that we would have to say any longer than a day or so." _Or that we would be kidnapped by a group of brainwashed dragon priests ..._

Cain thought it over. "I don't think I could even go an _hour_ without Lord Herus nearby ..." The child mumbled.

But, at that moment, a large ruckus could be heard outside through the stone walls, surprising everyone except the resident dragon. And moments after, the large double doors to the outside were opened, letting in a surprising amount of sunshine, and a familiar gray dragon being led by a flat eyed priest.

"_Al_-_len_!" Speck practically shouted in his joy, scrambling over to said Exorcist and barreling the white-haired teen over with enthusiastic licks and muzzle-rubbing.

Link jumped out of the way, looking at the display with a sigh, rubbing his eyes and wondering what the hell else could go wrong, and Cain watched with a large amount of surprise and awe. "Lord Speck can _talk_." The child whispered to himself and Herus, eying the harness of Speck's back with equal bewilderment, as if unable to picture anyone riding such a creature.

Herus watched with a very great amount of bewilderment himself. The gray before him was far from what he had expected. Similar in size and shape to himself, sure, but all of the loud noise and unreserved affection ... that was far from the 'normal' of gray etiquette.

So, Herus asked 'Whatever _are you doing_?'

Speck continued licking Allen from shoe to shirtsleeve, and replied with no visible pause: '_I love Allen. And Allen is extremely ticklish on his belly. If I lick long enough, his shirt-clothing-jacket becomes loose, and I can very easily have him breathless from laughing so much. Laughing is very good for a human's health you know_.'

Cain looked from one gray to the other, listening to the silent conversation. Lord Speck spoke nice and slowly. Lord Herus had often spoken too fast when he had first met Cain, and still sometimes forgot himself. Speaking silently was a lot faster than speaking aloud, and the child had to concentrate very hard to catch every word.

But Lord Speck was nice and slow. Each thought was spontaneous, but somehow direct and to the point. Cain liked how Lord Speck spoke, and hoped Lord Herus wouldn't make the other gray leave too soon.

"Are you quite finished?" The Inspector asked, holding himself in check. The rambunctious gray had somehow managed to get Walker half out of his shirt, be damned if Link knew how, and was proceeding to tickle the Exorcist with it's tongue, causing Allen to turn varying shades of red and purple from lack of air as he laughed hard enough to fill the tome-like silence with guffaws and giggles.

Speck stopped, letting Allen catch his breath before laughing to death. The dragon smiling in a way that only those satisfied with their work can. "I done, Ink." '_So, what do you want from us, 'Lord' Herus_?'

Cain blinked at the different tones, inside and out. Aloud, Lord Speck sounded like a toddler would, barely managing to get coherent words out in the correct order. But, the voice inside his head was so _different_; slightly laughing at Lord Herus's 'Lord' title, and somehow sounding like he knew what Herus wanted already.

'_What I want is a _proper_ explanation of what this Black Order is_.' Cain flinched. Somehow, Lord Herus always sounded scarier when he was mad, even if the voice was only audible inside his head.

Speck yawned, looking like he was saying nothing at all as he curled up on the ground next to Allen, who was now trying to get his shirt back to where it was meant to be, namely over his loudly-growling stomach.

'_Black Order_?_ It's where we're gathering everyone of course_!'

'_Gathering? And why, per-say, would we need to be gathered_?_ I'm certain that it would be easy to find, considering the amount of our kind already there_.'

The Exorcist had gotten every item of clothing where it needed to be, and was now patting Speck on the nose, making the gray make a sound somewhere between a _purr_ and a _hum_.

'_True, but you are not there yet, and neither are quite a few others_. _That is why we are searching instead of enjoying ourselves back at Home right now_. _Why did you do all of this anyway, gray-who-has-named-himself-Lord_?'

'_Why have I cleared the minds of so many humans and re-made them the way I want, you ask, gray-that-is-a-Speck_?'

Cain was bemused, listening to such a tense conversation while watching so little happen around him. The man called Link was still fuming at Speck's undignified entrance, and the strange teen named Allen was smiling good-naturedly at it all, his clothing damp from dragon-spit.

'_Yes_. _I ask you Herus, gray-that-thinks-he-knows-the-future, why have to stretched your eyes to so many men, and spread your words of doom so far and wide_.'

Herus paused, a monumental thing to do in a conversation of flowing thoughts, and looked at Cain. '_If you pick any time to start conveying these words aloud, now would be a good time to do it, my little priest_.'

The child blinked, then realized that he should have been speaking the Lord's words all along for the two important guests, and flushed red in shame and embarrassment. "Sirs Link and Walker," Cain quickly proclaimed, causing the two to turn towards the quickly talking child.

"Lord Speck and Lord Herus have been conversing, and now wish for you to hear their words. Lord Herus is currently answering Lord Speck's question of why he has taken forcible control over so many people."

The Exorcist and Inspector were listening, casting curious glances at Speck, who had not spoken the question aloud, and at Herus, who had not 'said' anything at all.

'_When I first woke, I found myself awakened in a place far from where my Chosen favorite was_.' Herus began, and Cain quickly translated. Herus tried to go slowly for him. '_I knew it would take many nights of traveling across lands that I knew-not, with dangers between myself and him, so I ate as little as possible to stay as small as I could for as long as I could_.

_It was hard going_. _People have expanded far across the Earth since we have been scattered, and many akuma traveled where they have never traveled before, in ways that have sickened me_. _The akuma now wear the skins of dead men like clothing, and hunt their prey in secret, making new tragedies and their own kind easily_.

_I traveled onward_, _careful to not draw attention to myself_. _I did not know what was safe, and what was not_. _I treated everything as a danger_.

_In my third day of searching, I found a purple that was with its Chosen already, trying to convince it's __human of its good-will by predicting short-sighted futures for her_.'

"Ha!" Allen proclaimed happily at Howard when Cain translated that particular part. "I _told_ you that the purple Krory has could see into the future!"

"Having the violet reptile say: '_You bumped your head_,' right before you walk into a walk does not count as seeing into the future, Walker." Link deadpanned.

The Exorcist gave the Inspector a surprisingly dark look. "You're just saying that because you don't want to owe up to the boots you have to eat ..."

"_What_?" For the first time, Allen saw Howard look like he had just been conned.

The Exorcist smiled. "You said, after I had walked into the wall and stated my theory on purples seeing the future, '_If that thing can really see into the future, I'll eat my boots_.'"

The Inspector turned from bewildered to angry at the flick of some invisible switch. "I muttered that under my breath to _myself_ as an opinion of my disbelief, not to _you_ for betting purposes Walker!"

Cain wondered whether or not it would be rude to interrupt.

"It still counts." Allen said with authority. "Doesn't it, Speck?"

The gray nodded enthusiastically, curious at the possibility of seeing a human eat footwear. '_I've never seen a human eat boots, have you Herus_?'

'_No_.' Lord Herus replied distastefully, annoyed at being interrupted. '_And I do not wish to see one make such an attempt either_.'

"May Lord Herus continue now, please?" Cain asked the two arguing. "He does not appreciate being interrupted because of ... boots."

'_As I was saying_,' The gray continued, '_The dragon was giving short-term predictions. Small things, like the weather of the following day, or small incidents that were to happen_.

'_Purples, if you did not know, are often born mutated_. _This one had no eyes, but four ears_. _The human named the purple Audio because of this_**(1)**. _Soon, Audio spoke of things farther into the future_.  
_Like the day I would come_. _The woman was surprised at my arrival, but prepared_. _She had learned to trust the purple prophet, and brought me to where she had hidden Audio in her basement_. _It took much persuasion on her part, but when she succeeded in gaining my trust I gained a great many things, including much knowledge_. _The purple shared with me all it knew_. _Of the Present, and the Future_.'

'_Why_?'

Cain blinked at the interruption, but didn't have time to dwell on the question, as Lord Herus gave the answer in stride, as if the other gray hadn't even spoken.

'_Audio gave me the knowledge he had of the future because he knew that in five days, a man would __come into the town and kill him_.' Herus paused, letting Cain say the words aloud, and to let the information sink in.

"If he could see what was going to happen," Allen asked into the silence. "Why didn't he just avoid what was going to happen to him?"

"Lord Herus says purples are foolish." Cain answered for the gray. "They see the future, but avoid doing anything to change it. They believe that personally changing what is to happen is one of the greatest atrocities they can possibly commit, and restrain themselves to only telling the future to others, so that others do the 'forbidden' instead of themselves. And even then, what they share is fragmented and vague, insuring that only few changes can be made."

"Krory's dragon isn't vague." Allen pointed out. "It says what's going to happen all the time."

Cain was silent as Herus carefully explained what he wanted to be said. "Does the future that the purple reveal still happen?"

"Yes." Allen answered.

"Do the futures this Lord say have anything to do with important matters? Like battles or major events?"

"No." The Exorcist said, starting to understand what the child was getting at.

"Then the Lord you know has not yet decided whether or not those around him will listen to his words if he reveals anything of importance. He will continue with small things of little consequence until he knows at least a few will listen if he must tell a more ... important prophecy."

Herus stretched one wing, yawning as well, before settling himself down again, giving Cain a glance.

"Lord Herus asks if he can finish his story now, or if what you've heard so far is enough." The child said, looking from Inspector to Exorcist.

"I'd like to hear the rest, if there is anything more important to tell than the purple giving Herus this 'prophetic' information, leaving to find you, and then deciding that taking over the minds of several people to spread this 'message' was a good idea." Link said stiffly.

Cain was still, and Herus spoke for a moment.

"No. There's nothing else of dire importance." The child finally said, grabbing his paper and pen and standing up. "Lord Herus would like me to bring you two back to your room now from Breakfast while he and Lord Speck share."

Allen salivated at the word Breakfast, but paused when the word 'share' ended the sentence. "'Share?'" The Exorcist asked.

Cain nodded, stepping down the small amount of stairs off of the platform and onto the level ground. "Lord Herus says they have to share what they've experienced."

Speck nodded too, and the Inspector glared at the cheerful gray. "Just what sort of information will they be _sharing_?"

"Everything, I guess." The child was walking towards one of the side doors. Magically, the door was unlocked from the other side just as he got there, and Cain slipped out and away. Allen followed quickly after, Link hot on his heels, demanding just what the Exorcist was thinking, letting 'his' gray give out information to anyone it wanted to, and Allen could be distantly heard replying, "Herus is coming with us isn't he? He's going to learn it all sooner or later anyway."

And the door, closed, locked, was bared from any further audible words.

**//DRDRDR//**

Allen watched Cain stuff his little face, openly drooling onto the table.

Howard Link had a bit more self control (and a less demanding stomach) and sat in stiff silence, looking for all the world like he was just bored instead of hungry.

"Link—," Allen began in a slight moan.

"No."

"But—,"

"No."

The Exorcist let out a repressed sound that sounded close to something a dieing animal would make, and placed his head onto the wooden table with a '_thunk_.'

Cain watched this with the curiosity most six-year-olds had, and swallowed another bit of roast beef before speaking. "If you're hungry, why aren't you eating?"

"Because Howard Link is a suspicious bastard that just wants the both of us to _starve_." Allen mumbled into the table, apparently more prone to voicing his 'black' comments when hungry.

The Inspector ignored both of the comments and sat as still and silent as a statue.

Cain frowned. "Lord Herus will be mad to know that you didn't eat again. Especially after he keeps making this food especially for you."

The statue moved. "'Especially' for us?"

"Yup." The child went on. "He makes food especially for all of his guests, so that he can look inside their heads."

"..." The Inspector didn't know what to say to that, or to the fact that the child was still stuffing his face full of the 'especially' made food without any adverse effects. Maybe it was because the dragon already was inside his head.

"... I retract my previous statement about Link." Allen said to the table that was currently serving as a pillow for his face.

Howard just decided to ask Cain a question, as Walker seemed to be good for just about nothing when hungry. "Do you know where we can get any food that Herus didn't make 'specially' for us?"

Cain nodded, gulping down some water before speaking. "Yeah, Lord Herus has the priests store the raw stuff in the basement. I don't think he makes the food special until after it's cooked."

Allen was up, and wrestling with the door handle before the last of the kid's words were out of his mouth. "Then what are we waiting for!" The Exorcist said quite cheerfully compared to his earlier moody comments.

"Walker," Link said, slowly. "Is the door not locked?"

The Exorcist ignored Link, continuing to wiggle the doorknob around, attempting to force the door to open and allow him access to the glorious food in the basement, ignoring the fact that he didn't know the way there, even if the door did open.

And then, the door opened.

Cain stared at the miraculously opened door, jaw hanging, while Link blinked at it, disbelief written across his face.

Allen laughed at their expressions. "It's not that hard to pick a lock you guys." The Exorcist revealed a small pin-like object in his right hand. "Especially locks as old as these are. Now, can we go eat? _Please_?"

//DRDRDR//

Cain led the two guests, wondering about how Lord Herus would react when the gray was done 'sharing' with Lord Speck. Herus had retreated completely from Cain's head; the child felt it. And there were no Priests in sight, not even to guard the doors.

Whatever the dragons were doing, it required their full attention.

The child rubbed at his head, feeling weird and off-balance. Without Lord Herus in his head, it felt like a hollow and cold spot had been drilled in, making his whole body from nose to toes feel strangely numb and empty.

They were down the stairs before Cain knew it, and the pale teen was grabbing all of the edible items he could, making them disappear at an alarming rate. The German looked around at the frozen meats, bags of flour, oats, wheat, sugar, and the piles of vegetables with some fruit before grabbing one of the jams on the shelves.

Cain watched with fascination for a few moments at the quantity Allen ate before looking from a small crate to sit on. The child still felt ... weird. The feeling was close to one would get when sick, but not quite. It was more like he was standing outside in the cold with no clothes on, and the cold was slowly chilling him down to the bone.

The black-haired child knew his discomfort was only a momentarily concern. Lord Herus would come back, and then he would have to answer why he had let the two guests eat unprepared food, and why he hadn't simply insisted on the two eating the food Lord Herus had made 'special.'

But, another object of importance had come up. The white-haired teen was steadily eating through the fruits and vegetables of the storeroom, and while Howard had stopped at one jar of strawberry jam, Allen _wasn't _stopping.

Cain wondered if the teen with the strange left hand and marked face would just continue eating, and eating and eating ...

Slipping out his pen and some paper from his pocket, Cain just decided to sit there and let whatever happened, happen.

**//DRDRDR//**

It was nicer in the cellar, Link reflected. Things were placed in orderly stacks, they didn't have to worry about the properties of the edibles placed before them, and Walker could stuff his face with whatever he wanted.

The child was drawing away with his little pen and a new sheet of paper on top of a crate marked 'Candles,' and seemed to be quite content with that.

Howard looked around for something to occupy his own idle time, as he was done snacking and Allen didn't look like he was going to stop eating anytime soon. Seeing as the only thing in the basement was food, candles, and a large supply of paper, Link decided to simply ask a few extra questions.

"Cain," The Inspector asked to get the child's attention. "You said that a man came and killed the purple dragon, right?"

"That's what Lord Herus told me to say." The child said.

"Was the man an akuma of some kind?"

"No." The answer surprised the Exorcist and Inspector, but what followed did not. "It was a gray man. With gold eyes. He cut off the purple's head, and then tore out the Lord's heart and crushed it into powder."

"And how do you know all this?" Link was suspicious with the amount of detail Cain had inside his head.

"When Lord Herus _tells_ me things, he _shows_ me things to." The kid tried to explain, hands waving. "If he says it, I Know it."

Howard raised an eyebrow and glanced at Allen, who had stopped eating. "And why doesn't Allen ... 'Know' things that Speck knows, then?"

The child shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have to ask Lord Speck yourself."

The Inspector twitched. That illiterate gray was not a Lord of _any_ kind. At least, not to him. Link could see Allen smiling at his reaction, trying not to laugh. He ignored the Exorcist and was about to ask the child to clarify what else the gray 'told' him, when Cain stilled.

The child sighed, sounding relived, but a little aggravated too. "Lord Herus _is_ mad that you ate your food without having it prepared fist, but Lord Speck is just amused. They have agreed to both go back to the Black Order when you two are ready."

Link and Allen both said that they were ready to go now, and Cain led them both back up the cellar stairs to the main halls. Priests in gray were swarming all over, each with a pack on their back and seemingly getting ready to depart.

Howard asked Cain what they were doing.

"They're getting ready to leave. Without Lord Herus here, they need to go out and spread his word instead."

Link narrowed his eyes, and Allen could just see the 'I-detect-_hypocrisy_' vibes coming off of the Inspector in waves. "And what 'word' is _that_?"

Cain blinked, like it was obvious. "That the End of the World is coming, and that they must guard their souls well, as the Lords fight to save them. Haven't you listened to _anything_?"

**//DRDRDR//**

Speck looked at the high vaulted ceiling, marveling at how humans seemed to be able to make such complex things, especially considering their small size and short life spans.

Herus snorted at the other gray. '_They are like ants. Some collect the food, some battle apposing colonies, some build, some lead those that build and battle, some make love to make more builders and battlers, and some_—'

'_You think too much_.' Speck yawned. '_Feel more, think less_.'

'_Well,_ _you _feel _too much_.' Herus sent out a few more orders to his 'priests,' making sure that they did everything in a normal-looking manner for empty shells. '_You should plan out what you are to do next, not listen to whatever little whims the humans have_.'

'_Hypocrite_. You _listen to whatever your little Chosen says or thinks, and plan according to that_. _The only reason you're not in some remote cave right now is because you know your Chosen would be scared to be so far away from other people_.'

Herus had to admit that the other was right. '_What Cain needs is just as important as what I need to do_. _If he felt unwell, it would disturb me too much, making me unable to work with other humans like I do now_. _I am simply keeping the child comfortable out of necessity_.'

Speck laughed aloud in a dragon way, the noise slightly rough, like a cough. '_Necessity does not require you to keep one claw inside the child's head at all times_. _Or that you 'speak' to him in our ways_. _In fact, __the way you speak to him is unhealthy_.'

'_Unhealthy_? _Nonsense_! _The way_ you _try to keep yourself as apart from your Chosen as possible is unhealthy_! Y_ou should share more with your human_.'

'_You know that Allen has more than enough conflicting personalities inside his head_. _If I added myself to the mix instead of working to keep 'Not-Allen' away from 'Allen', that everything would go to hell or worse very, very fast_.'

Herus was silent for a moment. '_My Chosen is listening, and is very confused by our words_.' The gray 'said.'

'_He should be_. _He is not a gray, and could not hope to understand these things_.' Speck stated very clearly. '_Humans are build to accept what they see and feel, and to only guess what others think or feel in return_. _It would be a mess if they tried to understand things that we do_.'

'_Truth_.'

'_So, the End_?'

'_Yes_. _The End_.' Herus still didn't like to think that the purples prophecy was right, but he knew it was. '_Audio Saw two possible Endings_. _In one, everything dies_.'

'_And in the other_,' Speck sighed, '_Only a majority dies, and the world must remake itself_. _Both are not very happy Ends, are they_?'

'_No_. _They are not_.'

Speck pondered. '_I wonder what Smudge and everyone else will think of it_.' The gray grimaced. '_It will be_ very _hard to try to say all of this in a way everyone will understand_.'

Herus gave the other dragon a glare. '_I still do not understand why you bother to try_ talking. _It is disgusting, and degrading_.'

'_Allen talks_. _Cain talks_.'

'_Cain does not_ have _to talk, and is doing it less and less often_.' Herus said, feeling proud. '_He can even understand me when I Feel Without Words_.'

'_I can talk to Allen, and he understands me ... most of the time_.'

Herus rolled his eyes. '_So why do you not explain to the human that there is a Noah inside his head, trying to eat away all that he is_?'

Speck looked at his hands, scratching onto the wooden floor with a claw. '_I do not think that would be a very good conversation_. _Most humans I know do not particularly like the Noah, especially the ones I know_.'

'_Truth_.'

Herus and Speck looked towards the door they knew the humans were just about to come through. Herus knew that Cain would want to talk on the way to the so-called Order, and Speck knew that when they got Home that he _should_ tell Allen about the Not-Allen.

He had put the conversation off long enough. But he would wait until they were alone. Hmm, how to get Allen alone ...

Speck had an idea. Some sort of _picnic_ on a Lunch or Dinner of Breakfast or Supper or Snack-Time soon. That would work.

Now, if he could get Allen to accept the information without any large amounts of emotional stress, the conversation wouldn't be Bad at all!

**END 29. Two Shades of Gray**

AN:

**(1)** _Audio_: Latin for 'to hear'

... Official chapter 187 of D. Gray Man came out. And it _had a dragon in it_.

(There is a 80% chance that the dragon is Lulubell. Eh, eh? Anybody else agree? Oh, and a .0001% chance that Ammy decided to hijack the Manga. Who knows~)

HA-ha!

On a side note, the next chapter will focus on what is happening with Lenalee, and may take a bit longer than the usual to get out and posted for you guys. School is coming back (on the 24th for me) and I need to get rolling with that.(I STILL don't know what the hell happens to all of my mechanicl pencils ...)

And _**Thanks**_ to those that reviewed last chapter; even a small handfull of reviews help keep me going, especially when D. Gray Man chapters are so far between eachother right now.

-knux33


	30. Do you speak Russian?

**30. Do you speak Russian?**

(AN: Talking Key:

'_Blah blah_.' Mind-to-Mind Talk

_Blah blah_. Thoughts

"Blah blah." English

"Blah blah." Russian/foreign-language written in English for story purposes.)

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee looked outside the carriage window, staring at the lake beside them. The water seemed to sparkle in the sunlight, and little islands were sprinkled on the flat horizon.

"I didn't think the lake would be so ..." Lenalee was at a loss for words.

"Big?" Fyodor asked, then chuckled. "Lake Ladoga is the largest lake in Europe, actually."

"Really?" Lenalee asked, still staring out the window. She couldn't even see the land on the other side of the flat expanse.

"Yes. We even have a base set up on one of the islands to the Northeast." The Finder sounded like a proud father boasting about one of his children. "We fixed up an old abandoned church at the sight, and it's a very amazing place."

"Fyodor, are you blabbering on about the damed island again?" Anna yelled from outside in Russian.

The old male ignored her. "You might be able to see it, if our investigation takes us there, though it's doubtful, seeing that most of the disappearances are taking place on the southern shore of the mainland."

"You old badger, listen to me when I'm talking to you!" Was roared, but Fyodor continued ignoring the annoying female driver.

"We should be getting near the town soon." He told the Exorcist sitting opposite to him. "Once we get there, we'll unload our baggage at the inn we're staying at, and then I'll help bring you up to speed on who disappeared, when they were last seen, and where they were heading after that."

Lenalee could see buildings up ahead, and more people on the road around them. She watched a man walk by guiding a mule burdened with several packs on it's back, and another man driving a cart full of what looked to be fish carefully wrapped away from the town, probably to be sold at another town down the road, farther away from the lake.

"We're almost to the Bangov Inn, if you wold like to tell that girl something less boring than your usual ranting."

"I do _not_ rant!" Fyodor snapped back at Anna, finally retaliating.

"Like _hell_ you don't, you old badger."

"Stubborn mare." Fyodor grumbled, turning his attention back towards the Exorcist. Lenalee watched him curiously. It wasn't like _she_ understood Russian, after all. The Finder smiled at her pleasantly and said that he and Anna weren't talking about anything of importance.

Lenalee just shrugged, and went back to window watching. They were in the town now, so the lake was blocked by buildings, and she could see that most of the construction was wood-based, with a few of the constructions deviating towards brick or stone.

The carriage stopped, indicating that they had reached their destination.

**//DRDRDR//**

A little girl watched as the vehicle was unloaded of it's passengers and luggage, hiding behind a blind beggar that was sitting down on the ground right in front of the little girl's home. The blind man was young, and tall, impossibly skinny beneath his ragged clothing.

The little girl giggled, and he jerked his head, waking up from a nap apparently. "Pretty." The girl whispered to him.

"Really?" The blond adjusted his blindfold slightly, and reached out for where his cane rested by his right leg. "Is it Sophia again?" The innkeeper's daughter was usually out and about most of the day, working hard at the errands her father sent her out on.

"No. Pretty." The girl giggled, watching the pretty lady with dark, neck-length hair walk into the inn that was across the street from where she lived.

"Oh, a new pretty then?" The blind man, young enough to have no facial hair but tall enough to give most of the town's inhabitants a reason to look up, laughed to himself. "What does she look like?"

"Pretty."

The blond sighed. He'd forgotten who he was talking to for a moment, or the fact that she was just three years old. He'd have to ask someone else later if there were any new girls in town.

"_You_!" The girl and young man both flinched. It was the mother of the toddler. "You dirty heathen, get _away_ from my daughter!"

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee turned from the inn's doors, and watched a middle aged woman scream bloody murder at a blind beggar who had apparently been sitting in front of her house.

The woman continued screaming rapidly in Russian, and the beggar scrambled to get away, accidentally running straight into a passerby and they both went down. The Exorcist heard Fyodor sigh behind her. "Ah, poor Droog. Mrs. Jabuk is being hard on him again."

The blind beggar, Droog, was helped up by the passerby he had knocked down, though there seemed to be no hard feelings. Quite a few people that Lenalee could see where laughing at the show, though the little girl Mrs. Jabuk was holding back seemed to want to go to the blind young man now wobbling away, walking stick whacking the ground.

"Does this happen often?" Lenalee asked the Finder as they entered the inn. The establishment was virtually empty at this time of day, after Lunch but still well before Dinner.

"Very much so. Mrs. Jabuk's older daughter was the first to disappear, and she's been watching her younger daughter like a hawk because of it. Little Inna loves that beggar like a pet, but her mother won't let her near him ever since poor Larrisa vanished."

"So, Larrisa was the first to be taken."

"Just a few weeks ago." The Finder confirmed, only having to nod at the Innkeeper before leading Lenalee up the stairs to where she would be staying. "And after that, Liza, the daughter of one of the local fishermen. And lastly, just five days ago, Nadya."

Lenalee blinked at the foreign names, and the strange twist the pronunciations took. And she had been worried about just remembering Fyodor's name!

"I think I would like to have a talk with Mrs. Ja—... the woman across the street first." Fyodor had opened one of the second floor doors, and placed her bag inside. He still insisted on carrying it for her.

Fyodor nodded, but said: "Just let me make sure that everything is fine here and catch up a bit with Boris first. You can head over to the home if you want to. Though be careful; as you saw, Mrs. Jabuk is really not fond of strangers."

Lenalee nodded, and headed back down the stairs with him before heading out. The Exorcist had really gotten sick of sitting around doing nothing on both the train ride and following carriage ride here; she had no intentions of sitting around any longer.

Once outside, she was surprised to see the little girl across the street was now alone, looking with what seemed to be a pout further down the road in the direction the beggar had stumbled off in ...

Walking into the sunshine after the dark interior of the inn, Lenalee shaded her eyes for a moment, waiting for her eyes to adjust before looking for Mrs. Jabuk, when a strong stick whacked her in the leg. Lenalee jumped away from the object, not truly able to see anything, and felt someone grab onto her should with a death grip.

A male voice jabbered in Russian at her, sounding pleading, and a second voice screeched something at the both of them. It was then that the Exorcist saw the middle aged woman she had been looking for brandishing a broom in the direction of the young blind male cowering behind her.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Barbarian! Pervert! Kidnapper!" Wow, Mrs. J really wanted to vent at him today didn't she? Droog hoped that whoever he was holding onto was someone nice, because it sounded like Mrs. Jabuk really wanted to _castrate_ him—wait. He shifted his grip on the unknown shoulder.

This didn't feel like anyone he knew ... the bones were too prominent for any of the women, and there wasn't enough muscle for any of the men he knew either. Beneath the blindfold his eyes blinked in the unshifting darkness.

"If you ever _dare_ to come near my daughter again—!" The shrill voice changed angles, revealing Mrs. Jabuk's attempt to move around the human in her way. Droog shifted around the body as well, moving his hand with him. His fingertips felt the smooth skin of the girls neck, and a wisp of soft hair before Mrs. J's weapon caught up with him.

He hadn't known she had been carrying a broomstick.

**//DRDRDR//**

The Exorcist felt the impulse to activate her Innocence as fingers brushed across her neck, but didn't have time to act on that impulse as the broomstick the woman had been carrying hit the beggar's head with a loud _crack_, causing Droog to fall to the ground like a puppet suddenly without strings.

There was a shriek, and the little girl that had been across the street ran over in a stumbling gait of a child that was still more of a toddler. It was luck that the street was mostly empty of traffic at this time of day, or the little mite would have probably been crushed.

As it was, the little girl made it to the other side, grabbing the beggar's dirty hand that laid limp on the ground. Fyodor and one other man were trying to stop Mrs. Jabuk from causing any further damage, and getting whacked themselves for their trouble.

Lenalee crouched down, trying to determine whether the beggar was all right or not. He had one nasty looking bump slowly turning into an angry purple bruise, but there was no blood and the blind man was already starting to come around, groaning.

The girl was ecstatic that her friend was well enough to grumble several coarse-sounding words in Russian, and the child babbled out her own words, though they were obviously only the jumbled words of a three-year-old.

The blind man groaned again, one hand on his head and the other groping around randomly, searching for his walking stick. Lenalee grabbed the object and placed it before his searching fingers, helping him to get up.

Fyodor and the second man whom Lenalee guessed to be Boris were still trying to calm Mrs. Jabuk down. Anna ran over from where she had been parking the carriage, assisting the two men, but seemed to have a bit more success in soothing the older woman into a less violent state.

**//DRDRDR//**

Droog, now on his feet, didn't let the hand that had helped him up go. He grabbed it, trying to be gentle, and slowly felt the smooth skin, slim fingers, and carefully trimmed nails.

_Nobody I know_. Droog released the hand quickly, hoping that he hadn't scared whoever was attached to it. He felt the familiar stubby fingers of the little girl that was so kind to him grip the side of his dirty and slightly-frayed shirt. "Pretty." She said, and he silently agreed.

_Yes, little Inna, she is beautiful._

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee watched the blind beggar snatch his hand back from hers, as if embarrassed after carefully feeling it.

"_P-prastite_." The young man stuttered, carefully fiddling with his blindfold.

Lenalee blinked, not comprehending. "I'm sorry, I don't speak Russian."

The blind beggar paused, not understanding her at all, and looked like he was trying to ponder what Lenalee had just said. "_Y__a __ne panimayu __tebia_."

Mrs. Jabuk had stopped screaming, though she still glared daggers at the tall male filth that dared to creep to her young daughter's side unsupervised. Fyodor left the old woman to Anna and Boris, the owner of the inn. The Finder himself grabbed Droog's hand, and began to lead the young man as far away as possible, talking quietly in Russian.

Lenalee grabbed onto the little girl—Inna, was what the Exorcist thought Fyodor had called her, but Lenalee couldn't be certain that the name was right—trying to keep her from running after Droog and into the street again.

The toddler wiggled and squirmed, not liking being held back by these strange hands _at all_.

Mrs. Jabuk walked over and scooped up her child, broom still held tightly in her other hand. The older woman said something to Anna, and walked determinedly back to her house, getting herself and her daughter inside before shutting the door.

Well, _slamming_ the door actually.

Lenalee glanced towards Anna, who sighed and muttered something in Russian before motioning for the Exorcist to follow her back into the inn. The girl did so, hoping that not all of the parents were as violent, otherwise it may be quite a hassle to figure out what happened to their children.

**//DRDRDR//**

Luke sighed to himself sadly, and carefully re-shelved a book that was just a bit bigger than he was. He had grown very apt at moving books, and at slipping around the Library unnoticed. He had also come to know the daily schedule that took place around Headquarters.

Around now, most people were usually getting back to work as Lunch ended, satisfied with their full belly's. The blue pondered his own stomach for a moment. No, not hungry yet. He would snatch something from the kitchen before or after Dinner.

For now, he would spy.

Luke knew that Link liked information, and wanted to repay his Chosen for taking the time to help him learn to read. The blue had been following people and learning about each one individually. He had only observed a few people so far, but the dragon was pleased with his own progress.

He had already braved the places where the Monsters lived while following one man he knew to be Nice, and was very proud of himself for conquering his fear in the search for information for Howard.

And, he had even found out what had come to happen to the Loud, terrible man that had cut out his tongue. In a way, Luke knew the man probably deserved to be reduced to one of the very experiments he had worked so madly upon, but the dragon didn't think that the Quiet man should have been forced to become the one operating on him.

The Quiet man was Nice, and soft hearted. Luke knew that well; the man had let him out to begin with after all. The dragon settled down on top of a book self for a moment, deliberating over what to do now that he had finished his book.

The novel had been very confusing to him, as it was a story set in a specific human time frame that he hadn't read about yet, and he planed to ask Link several questions about it later.  
But now … what to do? He wasn't hungry. He didn't want to read another book until he had his questions answered for the previous one. There were people to follow though …

Luke took flight, aiming for the door that lead from the library to the rest of the compound. The blue dragon found doors funny things, as they didn't bother to build doors where he had been born. And the handles were not built for dragon paws, but he managed.

Blending as he went along, the blue carefully slipped around those in the hallway. He wanted to find someone new to follow; someone that was sure to be interesting …  
And then the blue found the purple.

Ler-Rel was currently trying it's hand at something the human's liked to call 'chess,' and was supposedly loosing at the game, guessing by the frustrated look on Rel's face, though Ler only looked bored.

"We lost." The left head prophesied, examining the black and white pieces with disdain. "Did we go?"

(AN: I've decide to 'translate' what Ler says, as he is far too confusing. So Ler said: "We're going to lose. Can we leave?")

"No. And it is rude to tell who is going to win or lose before the end of a game, Me-that-is-impatient." The right head answered, moving a white piece forward.

Johnny countered by moving a black, taking out one of the more important-looking whites, making Rel wince, and glare angrily at the board with a greater concentration, trying to find a winning move even when his other half predicted his failure.

Luke hovered, wondering whether or not to stay and observe. He had never seen this game before, and wanted to see it played. But, by the looks of things, the game would not last much longer.

The bespectacled scientist grinned, and moved a black piece into check.

Rel growled, and tried to reverse the situation by moving a white piece with unnecessary force. Ler sighed, and mumbled to himself: "You lost, Me-that-is-stubborn."

("You are going to lose, Me-that-is-stubborn.")

And, true to the prophecy, Johnny soon moved into checkmate, closing the game.

Luke landed, looking from the purple dragon to small human, wondering what was going to happen next. Rel did not take kindly to losing.

"I want a _rematch_!" The right head of the purple body demanded.

Johnny scratched the back of his head, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, but I can't right now. My break is going to end in a few minuets, and I need to get back to work—,"

Ler scoffed, and said in his backwards way: "You didn't have to work. Something surprising came up."

("You won't have to work. Something surprising is going to come up.")

After an entire chess match of the left head talking from the sidelines, Johnny could pretty much translate what the more confusing half of the purple dragon said on his own. But the comment made the young Scientist feel uneasy. What did the purple mean by 'surprising?'

Luke, too wondered what the purple meant. The blue had figured out the other dragon's twisted way of prophesying as well, and didn't like how obscured some of the purple's words were.

Ler grinned, apparently to himself as he was still looking off the the side, into some amusing future. "And it was quite a mess they made ..."

("And it is quite a mess they are going to make ...")

And then, as if the emphasize what had been said, a loud crash could be heard through the ceiling, as if something large and heavy had fallen in the room above. Johnny jumped at the noise, his glasses going askew as he ran for the stairs, Luke following invisible behind him.

Rel looked at Ler, and Ler looked at Rel.

"So, should we follow them?" The right head proposed.

"No. We hid." The left said with certainty.

("No. We hide.")

The right head sighed. Rel only knew what was in the 'Now,' after all. He did not know the future unless the left head told it to him.

Ler grunted, looking slightly sad now. He only knew what was 'To-Be,' after all. As time crawled on, he only knew less.

Besides, it wasn't like two heads were better than one, after all. Especially when the two had conflicting wants, and very different views. But, they did have one agreement.

"Shall we hide with the cakes?"

Ler didn't even have to ponder about it. "Yes, we hid with the cakes, and Krory came to visit."

("Yes, we shall hide with the cakes, and Krory will come to visit.")

Both heads licked their lips at the thought of the sweet pastries, one of the many good things that made living on the human mud-planet worth while.

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee looked past the sturdy wooden dock that was wizened and old, admiring the sparkling waters. The sun was setting behind her, so the view probably wasn't as good as it would have been on the other side of the lake, the side facing the sunset, but it was still pretty all the same.

Fyodor had taken her around the town on a sort-of tour, trying to orient her to the new surroundings and pointing out the areas where the missing girls had last been seen, hoping on a fresh view on the mystery.

There wasn't much to it. One girl had disappeared around the front of the very inn the Exorcist and Finders were now staying at. Another had last been seen leaving her home to go fetch some freshwater from the local well.

The last girl that had been noted gone had been taken in broad daylight at the busiest time of day, surrounded by a crowd of people and horses pulling carted goods too and fro.

Strangely enough, most of the townsfolk blamed the disappearances on a myth. Fyodor had wrote as much in his report back to base, and the legend had only help confirm the Order's suspicions.

The story was about a dragon. It was said that the dragon lives within the lake, feeding upon fish and dwelling within an underwater cave filled with riches and wonderful things. Every so often, the dragon was rumoured to come up from its watery home, searching for virgin brides to sate its loneliness for a time, and to later quench the monster's thirst for a warm bloody meal.

The story had only been a legend … until now. The fishermen were more passionate about this fact, stating that there weren't as many fish as there have been before, and that the dragon must be hungry for flesh.

Lenalee just sighed quietly to herself. Fyodor was talking to one of the older fishermen now, a man who swore he had seen the beast with his own two eyes late one night. She couldn't understand the conversation, and had to wait for the Finder to ask all of the questions and later translate them to her.

It got annoying sometimes, being so far out of the loop.

Gazing out at the lake, though, her problems seemed somehow smaller. It really was a fantastic view, considering the way the water seemed so dark and deep, and the waves breaking gently against the shore.

A _Tap, tap, tap_ noise came from behind, and the girl turned around. The blind Droog was making his way down the street, towards the sandy shore. The Chinese watched the Russian beggar for a moment, wondering why he was heading towards the water.

Fyodor and the sailor talked on, either not noticing or not caring about the path the blind young man was taking. Droog's stick went from_ tapp_ing to_ thump_ing as the ground turned to sand, and then into _splash_ing.

Lenalee was sure the blond man would turn and head back the way he had come once meeting with water but, to her surprise, the blind man took off his shoes and placed them in the water, the leggings of his pants rolled up and stick back on the shore with his shoes.

"He does that every evening." The girl jumped; she hadn't noticed the Finder finish his conversation. "I've heard others claim that our blind beggar used to live by the sea before he came here. He always gives the fishermen good advice when it comes to the water."

"So, he is a new arrival?"

"No, no," Fyodor clarified. "He's lived here in Chliselbourg for at least four years now. Most of the people like him at least moderately. Well, most everyone except for Mrs. Jabuk that is."

Lenalee absorbed the information, still keeping one eye on Droog. "Why does she think that he's the one that took her daughter?"

"Because he's the last one she was seen with. Little Miss Larrisa wasn't seen after that, and poor Droog was miserable for weeks after. He blamed himself for letting her go fetch water by herself, and couldn't see his friend Inna either."

"Larrisa is the older daughter, and Inna is the younger?" The Exorcist asked. So many names had been thrown at her today, she was surprised when the Finder nodded, indicating that she had remembered correctly.

"Larrisa Jabuk and Inna Jabuk." The old man frowned, gazing at the beggar. Lenalee put her full attention towards the younger man and saw that Droog had taken off his shirt, apparently to bathe, revealing a frail, emaciated-looking body. "I'll have to talk to Boris about this." The Finder turned, heading back towards their lodgings, Lenalee close behind.

"The innkeeper?"

"Yes. Little Droog may choose to live in the outdoors, but most people feed him little bits every now and then. He's almost like the town stray. I'm surprised they've let him get like that."

Fyodor was clearly troubled. "It's also surprising that he's let himself get like that. He's never been shy about eating before."

Lenalee was feeling more than just 'out of the loop' now; she was a stranger in a strange land with people she didn't know, who spoke a language she didn't understand. But, the girl simply swallowed down the discomforts like she had a hundred times before.

It was harder this time only because Fyodor spoke as if he really fit in with these people, and because she had spent so much time in a world she knew well. No more.

**//DRDRDR//**

"Maybe he's sick ..." The Finder mumbled, playing a bit with his fork.

"Stop talking in gibberish." Boris grumbled back from his side of the table, plate empty and dinner long finished. "And tell me more. You say that this girl is here to help us with the kidnapping problem?"

"Yes. She is an Exorcist." Anna answered for the older man; she was starting on her second helping.

"I thought exorcists were only good with demons that possessed people." The Innkeeper argued openly; Lenalee had gone out to patrol the town herself, _alone_, much to Fyodor and Anna's displeasure.

"She is a … different kind of Exorcist." Anna clarified, but not to a full extent. Friend or not, the state of open war with the Earl and his army of Akuma was on a need-to-know basis, and Boris certainly did not need to know. "One that can work with more than demons."

The large innkeeper shifted a bit in his seat. He was a very literal man, and didn't like talking about anything beyond his normal day-to-day routine. Especially concidering the fact that his own daughter, Sophia, had insisted on helping their neighbour Mrs. Jubak gather some extra firewood tonight. "If you still believe that fishmonger nonsense about a _dragon_ in our lake—,"

"No no," Fyodor was quick to correct Anna's slight mistake. "It's just that this girl is smarter than most. I can tell these things, as you know, and I have a good feeling about Miss Lee. She will help us with the disappearances, and help get our girls home safe and sound."

"That's a lot of confidence in one girl no older that the ones that have already been taken." Boris was still unconvinced. "Especially considering that she doesn't even know a single, proper, Russian word."

"She speaks two _other_ languages." Anna argued, and them grumbled just loud enough for the entire table to hear: "And that's at least one more than youknow, you old codfish."

"_Anna_." Fyodor didn't want the young woman upsetting the person who would be hosting them, especially the host that was his friend.

After being posted here for so long, it was hard not to make friends with the locals. The older male had been here for ten years, helping to oversee the reconstruction of the church on the island on the northern half of the lake, and he had been all over Russian countryside chasing after one rumour than another for the Order.

But, as he had gotten older, they had let him stay at the lake longer and longer. Fyodor had taken the 'desk job' willingly, and just a little gladly. He had done his time out in the world, and had seen enough friends turn into dust before his eyes.

Age was a sign that he had lived. Though, he still wasn't so sure he liked being called an 'old badger' or 'coot.' One thing about Anna was that she wouldn't let him forget he was old, and he found that a bit unfair.

It wasn't _his_ fault he was wrinkly!

"Fine. You old farts can just babble on together all night for all I care." She got up and stopped off, and both of the older men flinched when they heard a door slam upstairs.

For a woman, Anna had a very course mouth. Fyodor blamed the fact that she was a Finder. It wasn't like there was much sex separation once a person became a Finder; Finders were just tools a-dime-a-dozen after all.

It wasn't like they were Exorcists.

Fyodor got up himself, wincing at his popping bones. Boris was no better off; he had once been a muscular man, and now that he was older all of the muscle on his bones just seemed to become shapeless, no matter how much he exerted himself.

Now that Fyodor thought about it, he realized that there were only a few Exorcists that were as old as he was. Wait … no. After General Yeegar, none of the living Exorcists were over fifty, like he was. Well, the Bookman was ancient was close to ancient, Fyodor knew, and was well over half-a century old, but Fyodor didn't know whether or not to count the man as and Exorcist when his title was 'Bookman' only.

The Finder sighed. Damn it, he was old. He'd been in the Order long before Ms. Lee had ever been born, and would probably die long after she did.

Exorcist or Finder … Fyodor had long known that neither had a long life expectancy, but he had never thought about it. And now, with his coming age came idle time to think about things.

And the conclusion that the old man of fifty-eight came to was that in a war soldiers died, and nobody won.

End of story. Time to go to bed and worry about the young lady putting her life on the line and wondering the streets by herself.

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee was glad that neither of the Finders had tried to follow her; she would have been able to lose them easily anyway. She knew the layout of the town well enough to find her way back to the inn at least, and she didn't want the Finders getting in the way if anything worst than a level one showed up.

She knew that she could take out anything from a level one to a level three, but the level two's and three's were also smart enough to avoid a direct confrontation and try different methods of attack if they were smart enough.

It was rare, but she had seen it happen. Akuma knew what the word 'hostage' was, and how to use one to their advantage.

They also knew the meaning of 'ambush.'

Lenalee carefully adjusted her skirt, glancing down at the two blood-red, almost halo-like objects encircling her ankles. They seemed to almost glow in small pools of moonlight.

She was well used to her Innocence now, after practising so much while travelling, but it had been almost a long time since her last encounter with an akuma. She wasn't looking forward to fighting the mechanical soldiers again, and alone no less.

Lenalee took off, into the sky, feeling safer there. The aerial view of the lake-side town was a pretty one; the windows glowed with warm light and the water lapped gently and darkly against the shore. There was nothing visibly out of place, she she grudgingly landed yet again on the outskirts of the town, near the trees.

She was just about to go back to the town to do a more thorough search by ground when she heard a voice proclaim loudly behind her. "_Eto_ Lenalee?"

The Exorcist whirled around, ready for anything, and met the befuddled stare of Sophia, the innkeeper's daughter, and the suspicious glare of Mrs. Jabuk.

**END 30. Do you Speak Russian?**

AN: (If you want to know what Droog and/or Sophia said to Lenalee, though it's pretty cut-and-dry)Translations:

"_P-prastite_." ("P-pardon.")

"_Y__a __ne panimayu tebia_." ("I don't understand you.")

"_Eto_ Lenalee?" ("Is that Lenalee?")

Yeah … abrupt ending, I know.

And a multitude of Non-D Gray Man characters have appeared to fry your minds with confusing names.

And the fact that I've never heard/spoken a Russian word in my life doesn't help.

And the virgin-eating dragon is still unknown …

And this chapter took twice as long as it should have, I know _I know_.

Anyway, see you all when the next chap is done. That will take a while though, because I'm editing a few other things for people, and my homework is currently piling up higher and higher all the time ...

No matter how much of it I finish, that always_ give me more _…

-knux33


	31. Captured

**31. Captured**

Gremlin growled. Savagely. Desperately. He tore at the small, enclosed walls around him, tried melting them down, but nothing worked. Magic enforced the metal, making all of his efforts futile.

He was stuck. In a cage on top of the bookshelf that was only a little bit bigger than he was, without enough room to even turn around in.

Brother was arguing, and a few others were too, trying to convince the Mean-Lady and her Crows to let him out. They would not. Someone picked up the cage that had been hidden, just waiting to trap him at the top of Brother's bookshelf, and Gremlin panicked, throwing his weight around as he tried to turn, to move, to _get away_.

The cage floor tilted alarmingly, and the Crow that now had him was moving him off of the top of the bookshelf. Away from Brother. Away from everybody.

"No no_ no_!" The green shook all over, scales flat, and felt nauseous. "OutoutLetmeOut!" The little dragon _screamed_, and shoved his weight against the walls confining him all the harder.

The Crow wobbled, grabbing onto the bookcase he was climbing down from, and the entire collection started to tilt. Everyone jumped away, and the bookcase fell to the ground with a mighty crash that was likely to be heard in the floors below, lose papers flying everywhere in the confusion.

Reever took the opportunity to try snatching the cage away from the Crow, and was only half-successful. The masked sorcerer had one end of the cage, and the Scientist had the other.

The papers fell to the ground and, for a moment, there was a calm silence. Reever glared at the Crow, and the Crow (beneath the mask) was probably glaring back.

"Mr. Wenhem," Bridget said, oh so strictly, "I'd advise you to let go of the cage immediately—,"

"And _I'd_ advise _you_," Reever snarled, much to the surprise and adoration of the rest of the Scientists present, ripping the cadge out of the Crow's hands just as Johnny walked into the room, "to_ go to Hell_, Ms. Bridget!"

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee looked from the innkeeper's daughter to the mother of Inna Jabuk, wondering just what the two had been doing in the woods so late at night. They were talking to each other in questioning tones, as if trying to guess why she was there as well.

Then the Exorcist noticed the pieces of wood both of them were carrying, along with a basket of freshly picked herbs. Clearly, this was a foraging expedition. She would have asked if she could help them carry anything if she could have, but just motioned for Mrs. Jabuk to hand over some of her load.

Once the mimed motions had gotten successfully translated, the slightly-over-middle-aged woman actually looked grateful. When the Exorcist was close enough to clearly see the two in the darkness, Lenalee soon knew why.

Mrs. Jabuk had her young toddler strapped to her back. The little girl fast asleep, and looked perfectly comfortable in the sling, but the older woman was burdened with bother her child, firewood, and a basket of herbs.

Lenalee realised that this mother really _was_ monstrously protective of her remaining child, and probably didn't leave Inna alone for very long, if at all, as she gripped the rough sticks of wood and Mrs. Jabuk sighed gratefully at the help, and said something kindly in Russian; probably 'Thank-you.'

The Exorcist was happy to help. Even if she had her own work to do, it wouldn't hurt her to spend some time escorting these two home with their load before going back out. Who knows, maybe the good deed would be rewarded in some way later on.

The calm of the night was shattered in a moment.

For all the two Russian's knew, Lenalee had been one place one second, smiling at them, and kicking back a large, horrible maw from Sophia the next.

The dragon had been aiming for the inn-keeper's daughter, but Lenalee had blocked the gigantic-seeming mouth with a kick to the jaw, and sent it reeling back, it's hide as reflective as a thousand little mirrors.

The creature was so exaggeratedly different from the others the Exorcist had seen that, for a moment, she was sure it was an akuma. But looking at it as it coiled, hissing in pain from the blow to the jaw, she wasn't so sure. It was far more like a sea serpent than a dragon, with long silver coils and small limbs that looked built for water than for earth.

The head was the only thing that was totally to Lenalee's normal 'dragon' standard, with a long muzzle, black-white eyes with grey pupils, and horns. Though, the 'horns' looked strange, rough, and branched outward from the base like tree branches.

It glared angrily at her, lips peeled back in a snarl. Apparently, it was no longer stunned in place.

The Exorcist only had a split second to move out of the way as it snapped forward, jaws clashing as it swallowed air instead of her. The two Russian civilians had dropped everything besides the sleeping child and ran. Lenalee was glad they had done so; this was what she was here for, and the two of then would only be put in danger if they stayed.

Another snap echoed in the quiet forest as the serpent missed yet again, but had been close enough to get the edge of Exorcist's jacket. The clothing covering her right arm was now torn open beyond repair, but she was still thankful that the dragon hadn't gotten her actual arm.

Lenalee kicked at the coils she could see nearest to her, tearing off a few scales with enough ferocity to make the large sea monster flinch and retreat deeper into the trees, trying to discourage her from hitting it again for a time.

In the dark shade of the trees, Lenalee couldn't see where the dragon was accurately, as no light reflected off of the scales in the dark. She paused, deeply breathing and ready for whatever the serpent tried next.

White eyes burned in the dark, the only part of the dragon Lenalee could see any more. "_Neplokho_." It said.

(AN: Translation, "Not too bad.")

Okay, she hadn't really been ready for that. The Exorcist wondered what the dragon had said, but was still alert enough to move again as the serpent tried to slither farther away from her.

The creature growled in frustration as she blocked it's attempts at escape again and again, actually moving through the trees faster than it could.

But, it still had a few tricks to try.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Rhode groaned in the insufferable way only children can, and poked Lero at the akuma in front of her with an annoyed stab. The akuma wasn't hurt, but flinched anyway. Bad things happened when Mistress Rhode got angry, especially to akuma.

"What do you _mean_, you couldn't find Allen?" Gold eyes glinted dangerously, and their was a frown on the little girl's lips. Not good, not good at all.

Never mind he had only been told to find 'Allen Walker' at the beginning of the day, and that he had only until sundown to search. He had failed, and that could mean instant termination.  
Lady Camelot had been doing this every day. Calling forward a new akuma for the task and doing horrible things to them when they failed. An akuma that fails Mistress Rhode is most likely one that never comes back.

It was only because she only did this pastime with low level akuma that the Earl didn't get mad, or really care much, actually.

"M-Mistress Noah, I apologize," It's always good to grovel, sometimes the Noah don't destroy you if you show enough fear. "But I have only found one other Exorcist, and she was obviously on a mission—,"

The frown changed far too quickly into a smile. "Oh?"

The level two squirmed. The smile was either a very good thing, or a very very bad thing.

"And just what did this Exorcist look like?"

"She had short neck-length hair, and Asian characteristics." Be quick and to the point. Give the Masters whatever they want. "She was called 'Lena Lee' by the Finder with her."

The smile grew wider. "Really? And where was this Exorcist?"

"Chliselbourg, Russia—,"

"Mistress Rhode!" The purple umbrella exploded, interrupting. "Don't you go getting any naughty ideas, Lero, the Earl will be mad if you kill anyone without permission, Lero!"

The Noah took her attention off of the akuma—much to its relief—and gave a bored glance to the golem. "Who said I was going to _kill_ anyone?" She asked innocently.

"Or_ break _them, Lero!"

The girl with grey skin laughed and smacked the tip of the umbrella against the floor absent-mindedly, much to the golem's discomfort. "I just want to play a little with a doll that I lost; that isn't against the rules is it?"

Lero was then thrown away before he could answer; discarded as Rhode strolled out of what was deemed to be 'her' room in the Camelot mansion and outside to the garden. The sun was gone, and the moon had risen, adding a silver lining to the Noah's grey skin and dark hair.

The plants and flowers seemed dull in comparison to the goddess that walked by them, smiling in a way that suggested mischief to come. A door appeared before her that looked just as surreal as she did; a door fit for the Queen of Hearts.

The Noah of Dreams was off and gone before anyone besides the smoker on the balcony could see her departing. The smoker sighed, breathing a cloud of toxic air into the crystal night and adding a shadow to the glowing moon.

Tyki Mikk didn't know what Rhode was up to, and neither did he want to know. After meeting Mr-white-and-scaly the man was at loathe to even be in Rhode's company. He was still trying to come to terms with the Innocence the girl seemed to be 'hiding-in-the-closet' as it were.

The Noah crushed the bud of his cigarette on the railing, trying to kill some of his frustrations along with it. He'd been stuck here in the high society for months, and was thoroughly sick of it all. The disgusting women that were far too frail for his liking, the men that thought themselves so high-and-mighty, the overpriced and over flavoured food; it was enough to make him sick to his stomach.

And, to top it all off, Rhode had some behind-the-scenes plot going on that he only knew a few details about. The Noah's knuckles turned white as he gripped the railing of the balcony far tighter then was necessary.

Every time he visited Rhode's 'pet' he had to fight hard to keep from the impulse to either shake from fear or to try to tear the beast apart with his bear hands. It was like the beast was mocking him, often laying in the snow as if Tyki was no threat whatsoever to him.

The Noah took out a new cigarette and lit it, taking a deep, comforting, breath of tobacco. As far as he knew, only he and Rhode knew about the creature's existence. Sure, the Earl had called the active members of the family together a few days after Rhode had first told him the 'secret,' and given them all a big speech about how a few strange reports the akuma and brokers were sending in.

That they all had to be on the lookout for large scaly, winged creatures as they went about their separate duties.

Lulubell had been the calmest at the news, while Jasdevi had the biggest explosion over it.

"We have to watch out for _dragons_?" Davit had said with a large amount of disbelief.

"Overground lizards belong in story books, hee hee!" Jasdero had nodded next to his brother. The two had become a bit more mellow since the Ark Incident, undoubtedly because of their near death experience, but they still had their loud moments. Like now.

Rhode had blown a large bubblegum bubble, looking bored. Tyki himself tried looking as bewildered as possible. The group was smaller than thirteen because the rest of the family was either working on different things at the moment, like Cyril, or still Unawakened.

"Nevertheless~" The Earl said in his perpetually cheerful manner. "You should all be more careful. It seems that the Innocence is really starting to fight back now~"

Tyki snorted at the memory. A week after that announcement, he himself had seen his first 'dragon' in actual combat. The thing had been _pathetic_ for God's sake! It had been purple without any eyes, and the strangest set of ears the Noah had ever seen, but it had been relativity easy to dispatch of. **(1.)**

The smallish (compared to Isaac) dragon hadn't even fought back. It had just greeted him with a riddle, "Hello Child-of-Noah; have you seen your dyeing cripple to-day?"

He had replied to with a tightening of his gloves: "I'm sorry, but I don't know any cripples. I do know a sick kid though. He's a friend of mine."

The creature had smiled a small smile, sockets empty of any optical orbs. "It's very sad that you haven't seen him recently. He must get lonely without anyone to take care of him."

Tyki had been mostly confused, but also slightly angered, at that remark. It wasn't his fault that he could see his friends; he had work to do. "He has others to look after him while I'm away. More friends of mine." The Noah had walked closer, ready for any surprises the creature might have in store.

The smile wavered, and lowered. The large double set of ears swivelled in multiple directions at once, as if listening to several distant sounds. "Ah, but you are wrong Noah-Child." It had said before Tyki created his weapons to slice it to pieces. "You're companions are dead, and the child is lost."

And then the thing was dead, and the Noah was on his way home.

In the present the Tyki Mikk stood, brooding on the Camelot's balcony. His thoughts had wandered further into territory he didn't want to dwell in. Like how _were_ his grubby human friends doing? He hadn't been allowed to escape the higher class, and darker aspect of his life, for a while now.

He missed the simple ways of his 'whiter' side …

Tyki took another long drag of smoke filler oxygen, gazing at the stars. Maybe he could ask for a week off to visit. It wasn't like the Earl was moving any of his plans forward right now, and Rhode herself had just gone off without a word.

_Yes_. The Noah resolved, tossing his only partially finish cancer stick. _I'll hang out with Crack, Momo, and Eeze for a bit_. It wasn't like he didn't deserved some time off, after all. He had been going to all of those damned balls and parties without much protest; he needed a good reward.

Some time away from the family. A vacation. Now _that_ was a good thing to ponder about.

**//DRDRDR//**

Gremlin cried. _Really_ cried. He had been so stupid. He had been so selfish. And now, everyone else was in trouble because of him. The green sobbed even loader as his conscience yelled at him, tearing him apart.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid!_ The Inner-Voice said. _Why did I have to go and poke my nose into what the Mean-People were doing? Why did Reever have to get hurt because of me? I knew Brother wasn't allowed to do anything to help! Stupid!_

The little dragon sniffed; trying to get his clogged nasal passages a bit less wet and gooey.

_I want Brother. I want to be let out._

He hiccuped, a bit less emotional.

_But … since Brother can't help me …_

His throat constricted again at the thought at what could happen to him if he didn't get out. He remembered a blue that hid in the hallways without a tongue or a voice.

_I … I have to help myself get out._

The green felt almost petrified at the thought. Home (the world the dragons had come from and within it, the community from which he had lived before coming here) was nothing like this. Greens were never apart, they never sought out knowledge with the passion humans did. They lived in their homes and colonies together, always together; no one was ever alone.

Gremlin shivered, overcome for a moment by the alien concepts of his situation, and dragged under by a wave of fear.

_Horribly alone. No one is here. Just Me and I and Self._

He swallowed after a few moments, and controlled himself yet again.

_I'll get myself out. The blue got himself out some way, so there has to be a way out._

This thought cheered the dragon an unmeasurable deal, and he even smiled.

_There is a way out. I will find it, I will get out, and I will see Brother again soon. I'll apologize to Brother and Reever. And then—_

The green slowly decided, and became determined.

—_and then, I'll get rid of the Mean People. I'll have to find the leader of the Mean People first, and get rid of him, but then Brother can be in charge. And then, no one will ever get their tongues cut off again. _

The green was quite please with himself, and no longer frightened beyond thinking clearly. He set about examining ever nook and cranny of his small enclosure, sure there had to be some way out.

If a blue could do it, so could he.

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever groaned, feeling like someone had taken his skull and used a garbage compactor on it. To add to his discomfort, there was a dry, rotting-like taste inside his mouth.

The Scientist groaned louder, and rolled over—

_Thud_

—only to find that the surface he had been laying on much less wide than his usual bed, and rolled right on off of it.

So there he lay on the floor of one of the small 'cells' in the lower regions of the new HQ, wondering why the hell he hadn't become a wilderness guide like his mother wanted him to back in Australia.

"Section Leader!" An annoying voice woke him up completely from his self scolding. "Reever, are you all right?"

The voice was identified as Johnny Gill when Reever cracked open one eye to look. Heh, there were even metal _bars_ keeping him confined to his side of the small room.

"I feel like shit, but hey, I'm in one piece." He grumbled out the affirmative, voice scratchy.

Johnny smiled, and the older man saw the younger looked profoundly relived. Reever didn't blame him; it wasn't like events of this caliber happened every day.

"What did that jerk do to me anyway?" He sat himself up, rubbing at his temples. "I feel like one of the dragons decided to step on my head. One of the _bigger_ dragons." He clarified after a moment.

Johnny frowned, adjusting his large glasses. "I'm not entirely sure, but I think you got hit by a spell of some sort."

Reever groaned again, running a hand through his hair. "Do you know how long I'm stuck here?"

The bespectacled young man lowered his head, and nervously shifted his feet. "They charged you with insubordination for refusing to had over the cage, and you're to be 'detained' for the next forty-eight hours."

The Section Leader scoffed. Detained? There was more to this than just some corporal punishment. Why keep him locked up when making him work through this headache would have been a better sentence?

No, they were keeping him in here for a reason.

"How's the Chief holding up?" Reever asked, getting to his feet and stretching out his back.

Johnny shrugged. "He made a big commotion over the Crow messing with you, but it didn't faze Ms. Fay. He had one of the other Crows put you in here and the other one took Gremlin to one of the other Science Section's rooms around here. Then he took the opportunity to check up on the Exorcists in the field.

Allen and Link are on their way back with another dragon, and will probably arrive sometime tomorrow. Kanda is still investigating in Egypt. We think Miranda got into a little trouble somewhere in Boston—,"

"Trouble?"

"Her Finder lost her for a few moments and Sunny is having a fit. Apparently, Miranda managed to gravely insult someone of political importance."

Reever raised an eyebrow. "Who and how?"

"One of the Senators on the Senate, and I think she somehow slapped him with a fish during a dinner between the American Branch Head and himself ..." Johnny trailed off. "At least, that's what the Finder that passed the message along from Komui told me."

The Australian couldn't help but laugh at that. Trust Miranda to do the most impossible things without even trying. "And the rest of the Exorcists?"

"Marie and Choaji are still searching France, and the Generals are all doing well destroying akuma where we sent them. Lavi started out for Greenland yesterday, and apparently hasn't called back yet. Bookman is still going through the archives they've supplied him with at the Vatican and Krory is still stationed here."

Reever nodded at the information. "Lenalee?"

Johnny smiled nervously. "The Finder that called in said that she was still going through the initial investigation and that nothing had turned up yet."

"She didn't call in herself?" Komui was probably worrying over that.

"No, apparently she had just gone out and wouldn't be back for a while."

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Lenalee breathed heavily, looking rapidly all around herself. She was walking on water, trying to see into the depths where the dragon had escaped her.

The Exorcist was trying to figure out how the dragon had gotten past her; it was almost as if it had shrunken in size to get through places she had originally thought it wouldn't be able to fit …

And then she saw a disturbance in the water to her left and realized that she was in trouble. She couldn't see the dragon anywhere in the dark lake, but it could probably see her—

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever chuckled to himself. "I hope she calls back soon. Komui's going to go nuts with all of this mess going on, _and_ having his sister not calling in."

Johnny shrugged. "She'll call when she can."

"Yeah. She's probably just trying to get through a few snags or stubborn townsfolk ..."

**//DRDRDR//**

Gigantic jaws surrounded the maiden upon the water—

**//DRDRDR//**

Rhode looked around, golden eyes taking in a moonlit sky, cold black waves, and a disturbance in the distance farther than here eyes could see.

Now, where was the Exorcist hiding?

**//DRDRDR//  
**

—the girl tried to escape, but a slimy tongue wrapped around her ankles, and the teeth snapped shut faster than she could kick her self free.

And then all was calm again as the silver maw slid underneath the water; gone without a ripple. Though, if anyone had been there to listen hard enough, they may have heard a distinct sound of a swallowing, gigantic throat.

**END 31. Captured  
**

AN:

**(1.)** Remember the grey's (Lord Herus) speech about a specific purple in chapter 29?

Hmm, I liked doing Tyki's part the most. The plot is moving, and the Exorcists are doing what they do best, and Lenalee just got eaten.

REVIEW please.

Next update after this may or may not be on a Tuesday in October … I'm trying for you guys I really am, but I think my Math and Government teachers don't want a free moment of spare time for me. And I have to walk my poor stir-crazy puppy so he doesn't get sexually frustrated while he still has man-parts … he's getting fixed in about a week from now :)

Again, Review and tell me what's bad, good, or just plain stupid, so my writing my improve you you all~

-knux33


	32. Treasure in the Dark

**32. Treasure in the Dark**

Gremlin growled to himself. Getting un-captured was harder than he had thought it would be. Only one end of the cage was made of bars, and that end acted as the door. The rest of the cage was made of flat metal sheets, and every nook and cranny of the thing was covered in paper that would not tear or melt, somehow protecting the metal beneath.

The green would have then tried nibbling on the bars, but the dragon heard a door open and close surprisingly nearby, so refrained from his next break-out attempt.

The '_tauk tauk tauk_' of hard backed shoes on tile floor alerted the green to the fact that the person that had used the door was now in the room with him. Gremlin saw from the limited view that the front of his crate allowed that the person inside the room with him was slightly familiar.

And then it clicked.

He was one of the two he had seen cutting up a person, and placing dragon bits inside. Gremlin swallowed, and shuffled backwards until he wings and back were pressed against the back corners of the cage. Maybe, if he was quiet, the person would not see him; and if the person did not see him, he wouldn't be cut into teeny tiny bits to shove into other humans …

The green was shaking.

He didn't want to be chopped up. He really didn't. But the boots were '_tauk_'-ing again, and the man was coming towards his cage, notes in one hand, and a needle in the other …

**//DRDRDR//**

Rhode waltzed down the street, nose wrinkling at the prevailing odor of fish. She had switched her nightgown for more comfortable clothing, like her favourite skirt and striped knee-stockings, and was now ready to poke around for Ms. Lenalee Lee.

It was dark, and a majority of the town was within their homes, sleeping. And, in extension, dreaming. The girl that seemed as normal as any other grinned a bit too wide.

Well, while she was looking, she might as well have a little bit of fun, now shouldn't she …

**//DRDRDR//**

Luke shivered and swallowed, trying to build up his courage. The green Gremlin had been caught. He had watched from behind Johnny Gill as they carried at shrieking and screaming dragon away, and had followed as the Monster stored the cage away in the deep dark depths.

But, the blue was determined. _Someone_ had to save the green, and it wasn't likely that anyone else would know where the dragon was locked away besides him. And Luke knew just what could happen. Few can say they know what it is like to be a creature in a cage. Fewer can say they have experienced what a _lab rat_ goes through in a cage.

And even fewer can say that they've been let out of those cages.

The blue crawled carefully around on the ground, attentive to where he placed his claws. Though no one could see him, he knew that sound would give him away in these quiet hallways when nothing else would. The slightest stir of the wind because of a wing flap, or the clicking of claws on the floor … crawling on his belly was the only safe way to go when the air was still, and the silence was as loud as the blood pounding through his ears.

The most dangerous part would simply be opening the door, and causing the gears within the doorknob to crackle and click as he got into the room. But, the blue knew that he had to try. If he just left the green to go through what he had …

It wouldn't be right; not at all. Not to Luke.

He was going to do whatever he could. So, with an unseen shiver, the blue leaped upward, grabbed the knob in his clawed paws, and opened the door with a twist and a flap. The dragon flew into the room, ready to absorb as much information on the situation as possible in the first few critical moments.

There was someone in the room with the cage on a table in front of him. That was bad.

That person had a needle in his hand. Bad.

There was no fluid in the needle. That could be good, or bad, depending on what the needle was for: putting stuff in or taking stuff out.

The situation was not looking very good at all.

But, then the man turned, and Luke recognized the face a moment before he attacked the arm holding the weapon, and stopped himself just in time before making a mistake.

And suddenly … the situation reversed completely.

"Oh?" The Scientist said, Quietly. Something invisible had attached itself to his arm. Looking at the limb in confusion, a little blue dragon somehow appeared, and the Quiet man smiled at it. "Oh, hello there. I didn't think I'd be seeing you again ..." He trailed off, eyes sliding to the cage on the desktop. "Are you here for the other one?"

Luke nodded vigorously, eyes wide and curious.

"Le'meOUT!" The green screeched from his confinement, furious that the blue wasn't tearing the Mean Person apart, or at least trying to free him.

The Quiet Scientist all but jumped at the loud sound, surprised at the loud noise. He was used to a quiet environment, and the dull, droning voices of the overworked. The man looked down at the green in the cage, slightly scared.

Luke scoffed, and held out a wing before the man's face. For a second, the man Quietly panicked at his vision obscured by blue wing webbing, but then he saw the words.

_Do not be scared, the green is merely frightened_. Luke wrote in a clear orange on top of his normal blue. The words were in a clear print, as if an invisible typewriter was at work._ I will calm him down, and then you will let him out, and we can all take some time to talk._

The blue was true to it's word, and hopped down from his perch on the man to the table, walking to where the green could clearly see him. The green was growling and crying at the same time, gripping the bars in his little hands.

And then, the blue showed the green words. The Quiet man did not recognize the language, but the green did, because the captured dragon sniffled a bit, and calmed himself down quickly.  
The Scientist let him out, and Gremlin didn't bolt away. Luke looked proud of himself, and fanned out both of his wings on the table for the two others to clearly see before writing out what he wanted to say aloud, but could not. _Human, what were you told to do to the green?_

"Blood samples." The man told the two Quietly, not at all adverse to speaking to the dragons. It wasn't as if they were akuma, or Brokers, or Noah. They were on his side of the war, and they deserved to know what was happening to them. "Saliva samples. And venom samples."

The green glared at him and at the empty needle still clasped within his hand, little arms crossed. "Why?" It demanded, not at all like the blue.

The Scientist sighed. It reminded him of a Loud person he knew … "For research on the way Innocence works. To see if it could be extracted and modified into more weaponry for the Finders. And … for a sick friend of mine."

Both of the dragons looked interested at that. The blue wrote something to the green, in the strange, scratchy writing the man could not decipher, and the green whispered things back in the blue's ear.

Clearly, the conversation was meant to be private. But, every so often the Quiet man caught a word or two, though they didn't make much sense out of context. Eventually, the two opened up to the man again, the green looking suspicious.

"Whowhowho this friend?" Gremlin demanded. "He Mean?"

The Quiet man was take aback. "Sometimes, but—?"

The green snorted dismissively. "Seesee?" Gremlin said to Luke. "Not worth trouble. We gogo now?"

The blue shook his head in a powerful 'no,' and wrote to the man: _Would anything we could give really help? Our inner life is not to be given lightly. This man should deserve help if we are to give any._

"Why are you willing to help me anyway?" The man said Quietly, turning his face from the two and putting both the needle and clipboard away on another desk within the room. "I've done you more harm than good."

There was a strange exclamation, almost like a low moan that had tried to be some other sound, and the Quiet man knew, just _knew_, that the strange alien sound had been the blue trying to say something with the tongue it no longer had. He flinched, and looked over his shoulder. The green was staring with a mix of pity and horror at the other dragon.

And the blue …

Luke sat in what looked to be awkwardness, embarrassed at forgetting himself and making such a disturbing sound. He was not sad, or shaken, or remorseful. He wasn't even angry.

The Quiet man closed his eyes. He almost couldn't bear it. The dragons were not human, not even close. He knew that without a doubt now. They were something far, far more saintly than that. Or, at least the blue and black seemed saintly.

"Man!" The green demanded of him, forcing him to look at them again, their little bodies sitting on the table like it was a large mat. "Blue wantwant speak with you!"

The Quiet man came closer, and looked at the delicate wing still spread out on the table. If it were up to his superiors, that wing would be pinned down to a table and looked over like a mounted bat's …

_You set me free. You have shown remorse for your previous and wrong actions. You have even let this other go without doing him any harm, or wishing to. You are a good person, and I feel you deserve some help in turn._

The Quiet man swallowed, his throat tight, and not quiet sure at what he was feeling at the moment. "M-my friend tried experimenting with himself. He transplanted several pieces of Innocence-filled flesh into his own limbs—I don't think he has more than a week left a most ..."

The blue frowned sadly, and the green looked disgusted. The man felt twisted inside, as if the gods themselves had just personally given him a verdict.

_We_, The blue wrote, and paused for a moment, deciding carefully on his words. _We cannot fix that. I am sorry, but … you're friend has forfeited much in doing such a thing to himself. _

The Scientist sighed shakily, sat down in the long-neglected chair, and placed his head in his hands. He had expected this already. He had known. But why did it still hurt to see the words written down in front of his face?

Gremlin growled out something, but the Quiet man did not bother to listen. He was too busy thinking of what he would do. What he would eventually _have_ to do. The body of the only person he really knew and cared a bit about was going to slowly decompose before his eyes, and die. And then, he would have to wash the bits of the Loud man he could down the drain, and bring to rest to where it would have to be cremated …

The man felt like he was going to throw up, cry, and scream at the same time.

That was when there was a hard knock at the door, startling the Quietly grieving man out of his emotional turmoil long enough to see that both the dragons weren't in sight, and that

Secretary Fay had elected to open the door a moment after she knocked.

The cage door swung loosely on it's hinges, and the Scientist stared at the woman stupidly for a moment, eyes wet but not spilling, before he realised that the green had growled at him to get out a little while a go, and that he hadn't listened when he should have.

The woman looked furious, marched towards him in her high heel shoes that clanked menacingly at him, and said in a sharp, cold voice: "_Where. Is. It_?"

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee couldn't believe it. She tried to kick, and to struggle in anyway possible, but the tight, slick cocoon of the dragon's throat held her tightly within it's grip, restricting her movement to mere wiggles. She was pressed on all sides, and she could feel the muscles working to slid her _down_, and into the creature's stomach. But she couldn't breathe, and it was getting harder and harder to force her body to move.

The slimy tunnel around her felt warm and wet, touching her everywhere that clothing did not cover, and even then the cloth was slimed down with to juices of the strange canal. For a moment, Lenalee though that this was probably what it felt like to be born, and that it was ironic that she would die in such a similar way, when she suddenly was forced into the stomach.

Well, she _thought_ it was the stomach; until she realized she could breath that is, and that there was no acid eating away at her flesh. The Exorcist sucked in the fresh air like it was the most wonderful thing in the world, trying to make sense of her surroundings. She was still inside the dragon, that was painfully obvious by how wet the 'walls' of the small cavern were, and by the fleshy feel of those very same walls.

The stomach/cavern was small, forcing Lenalee to stay inside a small fetal position, and she soon found that it was best if she tried to breath slowly. She didn't see any air holes, or any other exit from the area besides the way she was forced in, and that exit was now sealed tightly.

And the girl realised that she couldn't tell which way was up or down. All the slick sides pressed on her with equal force, and the confusion of her center of gravity was starting to make her feel slightly nauseous.

Time crawled by at an unknown speed and distance, and Lenalee wondered if she should simply cut here way out with her Black Boots. She didn't want to hurt the dragon (though that opinion was quickly leaving her with each passing sick-filled moment) and she didn't know how deep it might be swimming with her inside of it. And, she kept thinking of Gremlin and Smudge every time she pictured herself cutting the dragon open. She hadn't even been able to try communication with the creature yet.

But, the thing had still eaten her—

And then, Lenalee saw the one-and-only exit slowly relax and open up, tempting her with a way out of the dragon without resorting to tearing it apart. However cramped, constricted, and suffocating she knew it to be, and throat was an _exit_.

She pushed herself gladly into the opening, and felt strange as the flesh 'grabbed' her and eminently began shoving her upward. The ride up was faster than the ride down, and the girl found herself in the mouth, and out far more quickly than she imagined to be possible.

The dragon had coughed her up onto a dark platform away from the water it lounged in now, panting from the effort of bringing it's last 'meal' back up. Strange luminous moss glowed on a ceiling above, and gave the cavern an unearthly feel.

But, once her eyes adjusted Lenalee stared at the multiple crystals of large size, and metals of all hues. Coins were piled here and there, and in one corner, a little over a dozen girls just about the Exorcist's age stared back, clothing wrinkled and torn, but covered in lavish jewellery.

The floor was covered in a strangely soft and powder-like sand, Lenalee found the Dragon pulling itself up and out of the water next to her, long silver body reflecting the soft green glow of the mosses and helping the cavern to light up further.

It called to the other girls in Russian, and one of them scrambled over, grabbing Lenalee gently and forcing the Exorcist to follow her to the corner where all of the young woman were huddled. The girls looked relativity healthy, Lenalee reflected as she got closer and could see the group better, but their clothing really was in bad shape.

The large muzzle of the beast poked here and there, looking from treasure to treasure as the girls tried chattering to Lenalee, but the Exorcist shook her head helplessly. "I don't speak Russian." She tried to explain to them. They got the message, not from what she said, but the strange language in which she said it. Several shook their heads at her sadly, and tried to mime a few things to her, but it wasn't much use.

A few of the girls were sleeping, curled up on the sand, and the rest looked tired. Whatever time it was outside of this dark, cut-off cave, apparently it was time to sleep for these girls.

The dragon settled in the middle of the chamber, apparently pleased. Lenalee took a deep breath, and stomped over to it, much to the astonishment of the rest of the women. The Exorcist had just been tossed about, swallowed, and spit out, and she was _not _just about to lay down _calmly_ like some cowed _dog_.

"_Hey_." The Chinese girl demanded in the loudest voice she could. It was more than adequate, she soon found, as her voice echoed harshly off of the soft moss-cover walls. "I need to talk to you."

One of the great dragon's eyes turned to her, to show that she had it's attention. The creature didn't turn it's ear though; like most aquatic creatures, it's ear was more like a small hole in the side of the head, instead of a dish-like object.

"_Da_?" It rumbled, and Lenalee was relived to at least understand the Russian word for 'yes.'

"What are you doing with all of these girls?" She asked it, hoping it might understand. "Why are you imprisoning them like this?"

The glowing white eye stared at her, and the dragon did not answer. Whether it did not understand, or simply did not want to answer, could not be said.

Lenalee balled up her fists. "If you understand, I need you to tell me. You need to let these girls go, and come with me to the Black Order—,"

The creature yawned, bored with the Exorcist jabbering at him.

The girl was not pleased at being ignored. She stormed up to the beast's arm before it could realise what was happening, and kicked it with a well aimed blow from her Innocence. The reaction was an obvious squeal of pain from the serpent, and a collective gasp from the Russian girls in their corner.

The light on the jewels and coins glittered and danced as the dragon coiled protectively around the bruised limb, growling angrily.

"_You_ listen to _me_, you overgrown _eel_—!" Lenalee said in a way that would have made the old overprotective nurse back in HQ proud, "—I have something to say and you will _hear me out_."

The beast growled for a moment longer before quieting, licking at where she had hit it. Lenalee let out one long sigh, and started from where she had left off. "Can you understand me?"

The silver snorted, and shrugged it's shoulders in an iffy way.

The Exorcist thought it was better than nothing. "Are you going to let these girls go and come with me to the Black Order?"

The dragon scrunched it's eyes and seemed thoughtful. It glanced at the girls, and then '_hmm_'-ed to itself. "Let_ch_, go?" It said in a heavy accent.

"Yes!" Lenalee was relived. She had thought she would have to mime everything out. "And come with me to the Order—,"

"Ordar?" The silver tapped one claw on the sand, pondering the foreign, but not unknown, language. "Or_der_. Hmm, _Da_, yes, no, up, black, female, male—," And so it went through a multitude of progressively large English words.

If Lenalee had to hedge a guess as to what the dragon was doing, she would say that it seemed to be reading English words at random from an invisible dictionary with a few verbs thrown in every so often.

"—to have, to _not_ have, live, letter, percussion, cylinder, tapestry, contain, container, yield, yell, pending, bribery, bridge—," The fluency of the dragon's speech steadily grew more and more pronounced, and Lenalee couldn't help but wonder how much longer this 'list' would go on.

The girl felt a hand grab her shoulder hesitantly, and saw that one of the Russian girls had hesitantly come up behind her. She spoke in Russian quietly, questioning.

Almost without breaking it's cadence, the dragon answered the question in Russian and then continued with it's long list of English words. The girl dressed in rags and jewels seemed happy, and gave Lenalee a great smile, pulling the Exorcist to the corner of the cave where the rest were.

The Chinese girl then realised that this particular corner wasn't just covered in sleeping girls, it was also covered in soft fabrics and pillows for them to sleep on top of.

"Talk … morning." The silver tried to convey to the confused and slightly disgruntled Exorcist. "I … be _able_, talk morning."

"You'll be able to speak English in the morning?"

It nodded, then went back to going through phrases within it's mind, and tasting the words aloud. It wasn't every day the silver got a treasure such as this new one.

He hadn't heard a word of English since this girl came to town, and he was curious to try the language again. He'd been through the German language, English, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, and then, he'd come to Russian, and was quite happy to stick with the language a while longer.

And, the little girl that seemed as white and fine as a porcelain doll, had also had the faint whiff of a familiar smell the dragon had almost given up on ever smelling again. The sent of dragons. Dragons besides himself.

_So many decades I have wandered … I've not seen a hint of another. Not a black, white, or any color in between. This find is a true treasure … _

The gleaming white eye looked at the girls he had in his cavern for companionship in every sense of the word. The girls were just to his taste; virgin, kind, unscared by long years of living that most humans seemed to develop after their first mating.

He'd lived far more than long enough to observe the many varied forms of human development, and had refined his tastes accordingly.

After years of waiting for his Chosen to be born within the world, he had finally found what he sought here, in Russia. A lake large enough to suite his appetite, a safe home for his Chosen, if a bit shabby, and a luxurious cavern for himself to dwell in with the collections he'd gained in his travels …

And now, who was this maiden that smelled of dragon? And was this news of a 'Black Order' good, or bad …?

**//DRDRDR//**

Tyki bounced forward in a sliding walk, rolling forward on the heels of his feet, a worn travel bag thrown carelessly over one shoulder as he made his way down the road that led to the town his friends were currently living in.

He'd been pleasantly surprised when the Earl had let him go off without much of an argument, actually thinking the 'vacation' to be a good idea, saying something about "deserving some time off~"

It was actually quite late, judging by the amount of darkness. Or early. The Noah wouldn't be able to tell until he got a glimpse of a clock, but he guessed that it was probably closer to sunrise than it was to sunset, by to slight lighting on the eastern horizon.

The air smelled of stale smoke, and ash, probably from the mine nearby. That was why Tyki's poor friends were here; the mines often offered work to those with strong backs, especially when other workers got sick as fall came on. And, if that track failed, they could always gamble a bit before moving on to another town.

Though, they didn't ever linger too long. The smoke and grit in the air was bad for those in the best of health, and the youngest member of their small group had trouble breathing sometimes; mostly in the colder weather, which was why they had snatched the facemask for him quite a while ago, it seemed to help him breathe the dryer air.

But Eeze only had real trouble breathing if he exerted himself too much. Otherwise, the kid could take mostly any weather they had to live in.

Tyki used his free hand to root about inside one of his deep pockets, and dug out a slightly squished-looking cig. He placed the roll of tobacco into his mouth, and set his limb to searching into his other pocket, looking for a match. He curse when his fingers came up empty, and flipped his bag from his back into his arms, discreetly phasing his arm into the rucksack.

Soon, the Noah was happily puffing away at his cigarette without even having to bother with the annoyance of opening his bag, disorganizing all of the items inside, and having to repack once he found the box of matches. There were at least some advantages to being a superhuman, besides the cool clothes and heightened reflexes.

Slowly making his way to the address he had last left his companions, he heard a whispered word from the night around him: "_Sssss_."

The man walked on, believing the sound was only an imagined whisperings of the wind whistling by the brick buildings and a grumble of the distant machines of the mine.

"_Sssoooo_." Was heard, just a bit louder than the last imagined noise, and the rugged walker paused, confused.

"_Murderer_."

The Noah spun around, looking for the source of the voice, but saw no one. The night was quiet and still, and he was alone on the streets. Tyki started forward uneasily, hurrying to his destination. But he still caught the faint sound of distant, whispering laughter, growing further and further away as he walked.

He got to the designated building fast enough, and sighed in relief when he got to the door. Rationally, Tyki knew that he shouldn't be scared of garbled sounds heard in the night, especially when he could technically be as terrible as any monster, but it was still nice to reach a 'safe haven' after so long of fighting to either take someone else's life, or to protect his own.

But, he didn't need to think about such 'black' things here. The wind could scream obscenities for all the Noah cared as he opened the door, expecting to see his friends snoring on their make-shift beds of rags, and stale coffee sitting in the corner, waiting to be re-warmed in the morning.

Unfortunately, that wasn't what he found.

The room was empty, cold, and layered in dust. Miscellaneous objects were scattered around—bits and pieces of his companions belongings—and there was a scrap of paper on the counter.

Tyki slowly walked towards the obvious message held down by the weight of his own chipped coffee mug, and read the messy, almost illiterate, scrawl in a daze.

_tyki_

_aksident at myne. momo and crack didnt cum bac. i culdnt find them. no mor muny. i wint too plais wher nathan is. arownd churtch. wil wait for u thair._

_-eeze_

(AN: If you can't understand it, here's the _spell-checked version_: Tyki, Accident at mine. Momo and Crack didn't come back. I couldn't find them. No more money. I went to place where Nathan is. Around church. Will wait for you there. Eeze)

It took the man a good five readings before he both understood and deciphered the message, and by then the Noah was running back out the door, bag disregarded and forgotten on the dusty floor, note clenched in one hand.

Accident? Had they been hurt? Eeze stayed outside of the mine, sorting through the disregarded dirt and rubble for shiny and pretty objects to add to his collection. But the other two would have probably been inside, working to haul the carts of coal and waste from the dark to the exit …

And, if those two had been hurt—or worse—Eeze wouldn't have been able to take care of himself, let alone gather enough money for food or anything else. The meager stores of cash they had wouldn't have lasted a week.

Nathan? That was a high-class name, right? Maybe Eeze had gotten one of the priests to let him into the church for a while. Yeah. It made perfect sense. Or maybe the kid was snitching bread from the priests while living in one the graveyard crypts.

Either way, Tyki was making his way their in record time, phasing through objects in his way like the corners of buildings and running on air a few inches above the ground so that nothing could trip him up on the long dark run through the night. The only observers to the Noahs power were the gargoyles brooding from the churches roof, and from the corners of the graves as he passed straight through them too.

He was going to find Eeze. He was going to ignore the voice of the dead purple and eyeless dragon repeating what it said in its last moments within his head.

"_Hello Child-of-Noah; have you seen your dying cripple to-day?"_

Tyki wanted to forget the prophetic words that had been spoken to him back then, but couldn't. They continued to ring out; mocking him.

"_It's very sad that you haven't seen him recently. He must get lonely without anyone to take care of him."_

The words that had been quiet when spoken by the living creature were now screaming; a vengeful shade come back to haunt him.

"_Ah, but you are wrong Noah-Child. You're companions are dead, and the child is lost."_

The Noah checked every church he could find night, and every possible living space around them. He looked with a panic he had never felt before, not even when it seemed that Allen Walker had been killing his 'black' side.

He searched and he searched into the night, but he could not find a trace of the child he was looking for. All he found was an empty dust-filled room, and a caved-in coal mine.

**END 32. Treasure in the Dark**

AN: Well, here you go. Sorry if the multiple lines of thought bother you (tell me if they _do_ bother you please!) but this chapter wouldn't stay in one perspective. It growled at me when I tried to cut it down to one simple line of thought, and bit me when I growled back.

My chapters are being mean to me … T-T

How TYKI slipped in, I have no idea, but I love him too much to just send him away … plus, I owe him after all the mess I just made out of his 'vacation.'

Review if you feel my pain. Or if you don't. I like it when people say 'hi' ...

-knux33


	33. Morning

**33. Morning**

When Lenalee woke up, the cavern seemed the same as it had when she had closed her eyes. Exactly the same, in fact. The only difference was that she was less tired, and more obliged to hear what defense the dragon would make for itself, and the fact that all was quiet.

The Exorcist sat up, surrounded by other girls sleeping on soft fabrics, and looked around in the cavern softly lit by strange, luminescent green moss, trying to find the gigantic silver dragon who lived there.

The creature was gone, leaving the Exorcist stuck where she was with the rest of the virgin captives. The girl sighed angrily to herself, and got up to explore the cave a bit more, wondering what other surprises the day may have in store.

**//DRDRDR//**

Fyodor awoke to screaming, and the faint smell of something burning in the distance. He tried to jump out of bed, and failed miserably as his unwarmed muscles froze up and his stiff bones refused to move fast enough. The end result of his attempt was that the old Finder fell face first onto the ground, and had to spend several precious extra seconds pulling himself into a full and upright position.

Anna was already out the door of their room, running along the hallway and flying down the stairs before Fyodor had even fallen fully. The Russian Finder was out the door of the Inn quickly, but slammed to a stop as she looked down towards the docks.

It was mass histaria. Buildings were on fire, and she saw several people trying to desperately douse the flames with water quickly gathered in makeshift pots, buckets, and even wet rags. But there were too many impeding the effort, walking around aimlessly, or just standing in a daze.

Anna didn't know why so many seemed to be acting strangely, but she quickly gathered her wits and started forward to try and help those trying to put out the quickly growing fires. She didn't notice the young lady until the pale arm grabbed her sleeve, and forced her to look down.

The child was what Anna would call a pre-teen, and probably not native to the area. Her hair was cut far too short, causing it to spike upward in places, and a gigantic lollipop was causally held in her other hand.

"Ms. Finder," Rhode Camelot said in the only language the Russian could understand, though with a slight accent. "can you tell me where the Exorcist has gone?"

**//DRDRDR//**

Sitting up on his uncomfortable bed, Reever watched as another was shoved into the empty cell next to his by a couple of Guards—almost being forced inside to the extent of serious injury—and was then left to pick himself up off of the floor where the two burly men had pushed him down.

The Section Leader watched the other man shakily brush himself off before waving for the other's attention, asking through the bars: "And what are you in for?"

The slightly short, black-haired man with plain features blinked, looking haggard. "I … let a person out of a cage."

"Really? I don't suppose you could get _us_ out then?" The Australian asked, just a bit jokingly. Reever had already spent most of his night here, and the conditions weren't half as bad as they could have been. Waiting out his 'detention' time wasn't really a problem for him; he cold truly say he he had gone through worse.

The other prisoner shook his head slowly, not really getting the joke, and sat down on his own bed. The Quiet man looked like he had just received a surprise blow to the gut, and he was still trying to realise what had just happened.

"So, who did you let out?" Reever asked, not liking the look on the other's face. "I haven't heard about anyone getting the bar and lock treatment besides me. And you."

"A little … green dragon." Was the Quiet answer.

The Section Leader was surprised. "You let Gremlin out!?" He said happily, unable to keep his voice down, and scaring the other man out of his own half-daze in the process. "Great! Hopefully the little pest will learn to be better at finding hiding places from now on."

"... Gremlin?" The Quiet Scientist asked. "That was it's name?" And, before Reever could reply: "And the blue one? Do you know it's name too?"

The questioned narrowed his eyes, and asked back, a bit coldly: "No. I haven't heard of a blue. Where did you see one?"

The man on the other side of the prison bars flinched, and visibly hunched, as if trying to hide from the man staring at him. "I—I'm sorry. I thought that after we told the Supervisor … that everyone else would know too."

"What did you tell Curly?" Reever asked, suspicion growing every second. Secrets were never the good things in Organizations; he knew that. Things were only kept under wraps for one reason: fear of the reaction it would cause if the knowledge was allowed to become commonplace.

For the first time, the Quiet man looked him in the eyes. The nervous man's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like he had been crying only a short time before. "Do you really want to know?" The words were so flat, worn out, that Reever thought very carefully before giving his reply.

"I should; I'm trying to help."

The Quiet man nodded, and laid down. And then, after a Quiet moment to himself, he started talking. He talked for a long, long time, and Reever listened. Sometimes during the narrative, he felt revulsion, at other times pity.

But he listened to the man that was normally the listener himself, and learned a lot of things from the Quiet observer of the lower floors.

Very suddenly, forty eight hours didn't seem like any time at all.

**//DRDRDR//**

Tyki ignored the disgusted looks thrown in his direction; he was used to it. The Noah was currently catching his breath on the steps leading into one of the three churches that were scattered in the small town. He had searched each and every one of the buildings top to bottom, from the lavish insides to the molding graveyards, and he still hadn't found any sign of Eeze.

How long had that little note been sitting there in the dust? It couldn't have been more than a few weeks at most; the owner of the place was paid on a monthly bases, and the dust hadn't been that bad. But a few weeks was a very long time for a sickly kid to be on the streets …

Tyki stood himself up again, and weighed his options. He could continue his search, or … he could go home.

By all rights, any further looking beyond what area he had already searched would be pointless. No child would have survived the streets of this town with fall coming longer than two weeks without help or a secure place to sleep along with a steady income of food. And considering that Eeze had trouble breathing whenever he tried to do anything athletic, along with the fact that the extra cold only enhanced the symptoms …

It was a lost cause.

_Then why am I still here?_ The Noah asked himself bitterly, before sighing to himself. _Because I care, dammit. _

He sat down again, head in his hands, and tried to puzzle out where the missing child could be. Eeze had written that he was staying near a church with someone named 'Nathan.'

_But_, Tyki thought slowly. _Just because it looks like a church to a _kid_, it doesn't necessarily guaranty it's a church_—

Filled with energy yet again, the Noah got up and started down the road, looking carefully at all the buildings as he passed them by. Most of the constructions were made of wood, others were pieced together in brick, and the minority were constructed in stone.

Tyki wandered to where the buildings were the grandest, and where the owners of the coal mine lived. The rugged man sneered at the oriental gargoyles lining the large roof and the stone garden statues that decorated the landscaped area beyond the fence that blocked the land of the rich from the rest of the world.

Obviously, Eeze wouldn't be in there. Tyki himself couldn't see any way past the steep brick wall, and didn't see anything that would tell a child that such a place was a 'church.' He would have walked on to look at the other over large stone buildings, if he hadn't heard a passing servant of the estate—arms full of fresh produce from an early hours shopping at the market—comment to another girl walking beside her: "Have the master's guards caught the flincher yet?"

The Noah carefully turned around and listened with as much stealth as he could manage. 'Flincher' was only one term of a multitude that simply meant 'thief.' And a thief could be any hungry person that was smart enough to grab a pie off of a windowsill when no one was looking, to an urchin desperate enough to run in and snatch whatever he could before the shock wore off and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Naw, our 'ittle mouse is a sharp un." The other replied. Both of the women were talking loud enough for anyone who bother to overhear with the assurance that the information they were trading wasn't worth much value. "'e only goes at our crumbs when none's lookin."

The other scoffed. "He'll get caught eventually. They all do."

Tyki had heard enough. He slipped passed the two as they entered the small estate through the front gate, and he concentrated on thinking of ways to sneak around the place without anyone seeing him; and of how to find Eeze if the kid really was somewhere within the high brick walls.

The only answer he had for himself was to wait until the task would be easy: at night.

The Noah stalked off, looking for any other places likely to be where Eeze, as he could only get any more information from this particular place later.

**//DRDRDR//**

Reever make a small, noncommental sound as the Quiet man finished drawing his equation on his cell floor with a pencil the guards had forgotten to confiscate before throwing him in the brig. They had finished swapping stories, and were now doing what they did best. Science.

"We used this basic formula to start the project off—," The man was Quietly explaining. "—and based our research on the principle fact that Innocence can create unbalanced amounts of energy without any visible reaction to balance the formula out."

"You're right about that." Reever said, taking the pencil as it was passed to him through the bars and started writing on his own hard floor. "But Innocence doesn't just create matter, it can also remove excess matter or mass. The body temperature problem you ran into probably wasn't a problem; just a reaction. When forcing Innocence onto an accommodator that isn't synced enough there are similar consequences."

"Really?" The other asked, sounding surprised. "I wasn't told about any other projects."

"The other one was canned when Komui became Supervisor." Reever said, adding a few details to his equation. "Largely due to fatality rate."

"Oh."

"But, when the Innocence is properly bonded," The Section Leader started on a new equation as the Quiet man watched with awe, seeing numbers put together with variables he had never seen before. "The output of power becomes more focused, and we try to shape the weapon into the antiquate form for the power to be utilized."

"And then we have Exorcists." The Quiet man finished for him, looking curious. "And dragons ..."

"I'm still not sure how that works out," Reever said, giving the pencil back. "Innocence has always seemed like a battery; but now it seems we were wrong on that account."

"Well, it can't be called 'God Matter' jut because it gave people power thousands of years ago." The Quiet man mused. "And looking at how these dragons act, it seems to me that they've dealt with people before."

Reever gave the other Scientist a hard look through the bars. He still didn't like how the man had gone through with his immoral experiments, especially considering that he obviously knew better. "And what makes you say that?"

"By the fact that they aren't uncomfortable at all in our company, though we must look very alien to them, and by how much they trust our judgment." The Quiet man shared his opinion. "They probably came before the Flood … Great Darkness … whatever you choose to call the great extinction of man. They were probably treated like Gods back then too ..."

Reever was silent. He wasn't sure what the Quiet man thought was right, but … quite a few of the dragons acted like they had been treated extravagantly, and they were always confused whenever a need was not met. Especially when considering the orange Ammy as an example; that dragon thought herself royalty, and demanded that everyone else treat her as such.

"Though, I'm not sure where the Noah fit into all this ..." The Quiet man was letting his thoughts wonder aloud, and the Australian didn't mind much. It was nice having a sensible, non-work-related conversation for once, even if the other man was doing most of the talking. "Where the Noah here first? Or did they come from some place else, like the Innocence …?"

"Why should they have come from some place else?" Reever asked, "It's not like there a lot of possibilities out there besides ... well, _here_."

The Quiet man wet his lips before taking a breath. "Sir, I've had my thoughts to myself for a very long time, with no one else to speak too. I know that the opinion of one person cannot possibly be unbiased, or anywhere close to the truth of the matter, but I'll simply tell you where my thoughts have led me.

The blue I met was sentient. So were the black, the red, and the green. They've all had personalities that argued an upbringing that outstretched the time that they've had on this earth. I've read the notes presented to me about the time of first hatching and onward, and I very firmly believe that the Innocence we know and have known for longer than any living man can remember was simply a dormant form of what it is now: living beings that are intellectual and powerful, and that can fly across the world as they want to.

Even the small ones … the blue …" The Scientist seemed to shutter, but trudged onward, past whatever conflict of emotions he had within. "They have morals and beliefs that they couldn't have learned from man, and language that sounds nothing like I've ever heard. I believe that they came here for reasons unknown, and were forced to stay in dormancy after the catastrophic event that wiped out the first great populations of man.

The Noah hold the Innocence and those that wield it in contempt along with the rest of the world for reasons unknown … maybe the Noah ruled before they came? I cannot say my next words with any possible certainty, but maybe the Noah were our 'gods' first, and the Innocence came and chose others to place in power above the Noah without realizing what opposition they would face …

But, then again, it seems the Innocence requires humans to bond to before coming into any form of great power. The blue is the only I've seen that hasn't openly attached itself to someone, but they all seem to prefer one person or another ... maybe they need the other conscious being to remain conscious themselves in such a world ..." The Quiet man trailed off, and just breathed for a while in the silence, out of words and speculations.

Reever sat in silence himself, wondering if anything the other had said was close to any sort of truth. He thought over what had been said, and what he himself knew.

And then, he answered. "I don't think about the reasons for this war far beyond the fact that we want to survive," Reever admitted, "and I don't think anyone's really thought about what the starting point may be, or where this war's come from. It's here, and we have to deal with it, or die trying."

The Quiet man was silent; the Loud man and he had exchanged similar words like this, once … in the rain.

"But," The Australian continued, surprising the other who had thought there was nothing more to be said. "we're also trying to ignore the war while we're fighting it … which is a stupid thing to do, I know. But we scrape together moments where we can forget that people are dying, and when we can really smile at one another when we've figured out something that may save just a few more … something that could turn the tables to help our side …

We try not to look forward or backward, just at the present moment, because we're happy and alive right now … but we might not be tomorrow. Or our friends might not come back from their next mission. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" Reever finished, somewhat hesitantly.

"Yes." Was the Quiet whisper, full of a barely suppressed grief. "I understand."

After that, there was a companionable silence. Reever didn't know how long they sat like that, but it was long enough for lunch to be delivered.

The Section Leader got a bowl full of rice, a slice of bread, and some water.

The Quiet Scientist got a half full cup of water and nothing else.

The Guards that had brought the 'meals' were out and gone before either could say anything about it. Reever growled curses to himself, and passed his slice of bread through the bars. It was the only bit of his meal that would fit.

"No, I couldn't possibly take—," The Quiet man began to object, but Reever simply cut him off.

"If you think I'd be willing to eat a morsel of this dog food without you at least getting a bite yourself you haven't listened to a word I've said yet."

The Scientist obediently took the bread offered and gobbled it down. Soon, the meager amount of food was gone, and Reever played half-heartedly with his empty bowl while sitting on the floor by his equation that was still scribbled down, if a bit smudged in some places where he had walked on it.

There was no telling whether the guards had seen the writings or not, but it didn't really make much of a difference either way; it wasn't like any common guard would be able to make heads of tails of it anyway.

"Hey," Reever called attention to the person on the other side of the bars. "I just realised; you haven't told me your name yet."

The Quiet man seemed supremely surprised at the question, and actually had to think about it for a moment before answering. "Quan Hertright."

The Section Leader smiled. "Reever Wenham. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Quan."

**//DRDRDR//**

A stream of smoke was forced into the air as Tyki exhaled, wondering what to do. The Noah was leaning casually against the sun-warmed brick of the wall surrounding one of the largest buildings in town, cursing the slow crawl of the afternoon sun.

He had already looked around most of the other 'wealthy' areas, and re-checked the churches. His only option now was to wait, and brood, as the sun took its time calling an end to the day. Tyki reluctantly put out his cigarette as the smoldering flame came dangerously close to burning his fingers, and sulked.

That had been the last cigarette he had on him.

**//DRDRDR//**

Lenalee carefully held the small golden coin closer to a cluster of moss, trying to see if she could find any recognizable date stamped onto the coin along with it's unfamiliar lettering. She soon found that whatever had been written had been worn down passed any easy legibility, and the dull lighting wasn't helping her attempt at reading.

The Exorcist tossed the coin away, and looked over her shoulder at the rest of the girls living inside the cavern. They were talking amongst one another, and more than one of the Russians cast quick glances in her direction before adding another comment that was only gibberish to her ears.

The girl sighed, and picked up one of the many large jewels scattered around the floor, sparkling dimly in the low light. It looked to either be a dark blue or deep purple in color, and she couldn't tell what kind of gem it was. It seemed far to big to be anything she'd seen before though; most of the rocks could fit comfortably in the palm of her hand.

She carefully put the unnamed jewel back, and walked over to one of the walls, getting a closer look at the moss. The plant glowed light green and covered most of the walls in the cavern, making it hard to tell where individual growths ended or began. Lenalee scrapped at the fungus, digging to get at the actual wall of the cavern. The luminous substance peeled away like a rotting layer of flesh, revealing rough and dirt covered rock beneath.

But then she saw an inconsistent spot in the moss closer to the pile of gold coins. Sliding over to it, she tried digging there too—

—and with a triumphant smile lighting her face, found a way _out_.

There was a tunnel in the rock, and as she took a closer look in several other suspicious-looking patches of the plants, she fund more tunnels. Some were just smaller caverns branching off of the bigger one, while others looked like they might go all the way to the surface …

As a sigh of wind slid softly over her cheek like a small, almost unnoticeable feather, Lenalee chose her tunnel of attempted escape. The other girls had watched her tearing down the moss that was their source of light with horror, but were now watching her with another emotion beginning to fill their eyes like the first light of sunrise.

That light seemed like hope, but Lenalee wasn't one to guess. She just motioned for them to follow her, and got on her hands and knees as she scouted out the tunnel with a handful of the glowing moss in her hands, the very object that had hidden the path now leading the way through it.

The way wasn't easy, and Lenalee couldn't help but feel like she was being swallowed again. The rock was rough against her skin and clothes, and she heard several grunts and winces behind her, announcing that at least a few, if not all, of the girls had elected to follow her out.

Well, Lenalee knew on thing for sure: it would probably be a long and hard journey through the tunnel until they got out, if the path was even traversable all the way through.

**//DRDRDR//**

Malcom C. Rouvelier **(1)** raised a thin, pencil-straight eyebrow at Bridget Fay's report, intrigued. "Are you sure of your findings?"

"Yes sir."

"Then the … dissident scientist will be disposed of?"

"Yes sir."

The Inspector waved the woman away, dismissing her. She left with just as much cold crispness as she gave to her responses, and the door closed with a final and decisive '_clack_.'

Rouvelier waited a moment before looking at the file Bridget had given him, rereading a few of her observations written a neat, flowing print.

'_There is undeniable evidence of Dr. Quan Hertright not only interfering with the results of past experiments, but also proof of his guilt in releasing two subjects that would have been priceless to further understanding of the mechanics of Innocence_.'

He skipped backwards, into a few of the older notes.

'_The so-named 'dragons' are obviously not obedient, or able to deal with disagreeable situations in a civilized manner. They do not respect authority or one another, and are very prone to self-centered and selfish actions_. '

He sailed through the pages again, and glanced at the end comments. They were neatly lined up in a little row that trailed down more than half a page of printed lettering.

'_Recommendation for the treatment of Dr. Q. Hertright_: _termination_._  
Recommendation for uncontrolled Innocence_: _isolation until level of disobedience can be discovered, and the least complacent can be determined and picked out_.  
_Recommendation for the treatment of R. Wenhelm_: _isolation for the predetermined period; possibly termination if insubordination continues after isolation_. _  
Recommendation for _. . . '

He closed the folder, and placed it aside. The Inspector was pleased with the amount of information that had been given to him, and would follow through on a few of the recommendations. For others, he had a few ideas of his own of how to deal with insubordination.

It was just like weeding. You pull out the unwanted plants, let them decompose and die in some compost heap, and the overall heath of the garden is preserved. If you let the weeds grow as they will, they overrun the plants you wish to nurture and your garden becomes a wild, barbaric jungle.

In the end, it was best to just pull out the weeds before they grew in too rooted. Because once they took hold, it was all the harder to yank them out. And by then, their roots grew deep enough to intertwine with another, good plants and then you had to get rid of them both; the weed, and the plant you had tried to take care of.

And then, of course, there were the garden tools that were sharpened for pruning the unruly bits. He dialed down a number on his office phone, and picked up the receiver, listening to the monotone ring before a sharp voice answered on the other end of the line …

**END 33. Morning**

AN:

**(1) **This guy's name annoys me to no end. Leverrier, Rouvelier, Hitler—whatever the hell his name is, I've just decided to stick with what they translated it as in volume 14: Rouvelier.

Well, the chapters are coming a bit more smoothly. Though, I apologize for the largest bit of dialogue that I've ever given you guys. I hope this chapter didn't bore you too much.

If there are any comments you would like to make (negative, positive, or simply conversational) please click the _review_ button, and leave me your thoughts.

**I.N.**: I need to forewarn you all; the tone of this story is going to change a bit in the chapters that come. Especially the coming chapter. Things are going to happen. I _don't like_ that they're going to happen, but I also _like_ how they effect the story.

In short, I may surprise you. Or I may not.

I hope I do.

-knux33


	34. Deals

**34. Deals**

Lenalee couldn't believe it. After uncounted hours in the dark, being rubbed raw by rock, and clutching a bit of faintly glowing moss in one hand for it's meager light, she could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Literally.

She blinked at the brilliant daylight as she crawled out of the hole in the ground, looking around with a triumphant smile That'll teach that overgrown lizard to treat her like some sort of potted plant, to be shelved and looked at whenever he pleased! (The girl had had quite a large amount of time climbing and slithering around in the dark to decide on who to blame for her current situation, an she had elected to blame to giant snake that had 'eaten' her.)

The other girls were slowly making their way out into the light as well, looking like worms as they emerged, pale and covered in dirt, skin more-or-less pigment deprived after so long in the dark. Most still had their jewels clinging to their ears, neck, and fingers; the ragged clothing looking all the more threadbare in the sunlight.

Speaking of sunlight; as the Exorcist looked around, she noticed that by the angle of the crawling shadows that the sun was either rising or setting. She could see the great disk just on the lake's horizon; the rest of whatever isle they were on was behind their backs, and a shallow beach laid before them.

A few of the girls were already heading towards the water to try to wash off the worse of the grime they had collected on the way to the surface, and to wash out the ugly-looking scrapes they had on their hands and knees.

Lenalee looked at her own hands and winced. If her brother could see her now (with her uniform's right sleeve torn off completely, the rest of it in sorry shape, and her scraped bloody appearance), he would've had a heart attack.

Luckily, he _wouldn't_ be seeing her as she was now. The Chinese girl joined the others as they washed off the worst of the grit and dried blood, and searched the horizon. The sky was darkening, and stars were starting to wink into existence, indicating that night was coming instead of going.

Wondering just how long she had been held captive, and what the Finders back at the inn had made of her disappearance, Lenalee quickly tried to tell the group of Russian girls that she was going for help. She tried her best, but there was only so much she could try to mime.

At least when she walked off into the woods to discreetly activate her Dark Boots none of the others followed; they at least got the general idea of what she had tried to tell them. Taking off into the sky, and keeping track of the fading light on the horizon, the Exorcist went in a South-West direction, vaguely following the setting sun, and kept her eyes open for the docks of the town she had initially been in.

Surprisingly, the town she was looking for wasn't that hard to find.

Maybe it was because almost half of it was on fire.

**//DRDRDR//**

Sophia held onto Mrs. Jabuk's hand, trying to guide the older woman and her young daughter away from the town as fast as she could. The innkeeper's daughter had been guiding the elderly and young away from the burning village before the flames reached their houses.

Little Inna was whimpering in her mother's arms. "Droog, Mama." She was saying, as if she had lost her favourite toy. "Droog."  
"I'm sure that Droog is just fine, Inna." Sophia tried to reassure the girl. "He probably smelt the fire a mile away. And you know he spends most of his time at the docks, and there's plenty of water to jump into there."

"Droog." The toddler cried resolutely, unwilling to be calmed. "Mama, _Droog_."

Mrs. Jabuk sighed in exasperation, and shook her head. "My Inna, you must be good for me right now. Hush yourself, so that Sophia and I can talk properly."

The little girl pouted fearsomely, chubby cheeks puffed out like a disturbed puffer fish, but became quiet and began sucking on a thumb resolutely.

"Now Sophia," The mother addressed the helpful young lady. "tell me what is happening. I barely had time to see the smoke before you gathered us in your group heading away from Chliselbourg. What has happened to our home?"

The girl shuddered, her thoughts going from a maw filled with pearly white teeth opening to eat her, to the Chinese girl who seemingly flew in the air to fight it away, and rested with a strange foreign girl who made one of the visiting Finders collapse before skipping away and whistling a merry tune.

Things had gone from weird to terrifying in the past day, and Sophia was not going to tell the older woman any more than she had to. The innkeeper's daughter simply stated that there was a dangerous fire spreading from the docks, and left it at that.

Word was already spreading among the other refugees of a witch that had come to destroy their town with a smile on her face.

**//DRDRDR//**

Rhode laughed loud and joyfully, watching the buildings burn.

All of the people in their right minds had fled, leaving the fire to devour whatever it wished. And the others were sprawled here-and-there, gazes blank and minds somewhere else. Some of the people were even being slowly burned as they laid where they were; dieing and not even knowing it.

The Noah found all of it amusing to no end, but wasn't lingering in her fun. She had an Exorcist to find after all. The Finder hadn't been particularly helpful, but at least Rhode knew she was definitely in the right town now.

The girl knew the Exorcist was bound to come running eventually.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Reever sighed, and Quiet Quan copied the action. The day was just about done, and the sun was setting. The Australian was at least glad to know that he would be let out the following day, but also a bit sad that he didn't know when they were going to let the other man out.

Or if they were going to let the Quiet man out. Reever as pretty sure the only reason he was being let off with such a 'light' punishment was because he was needed and well liked. The same couldn't be said for Quan, whose project was an obvious failure.

Reever wouldn't let it show, but he was actually quite worried. He didn't know what the other Section Leaders or Secretary might do as 'punishment,' but he knew that Quan would probably get something worse than sitting in a jail cell for a few days.

There was a forceful clang as the door opened, and a guard briskly walked in, gave the two some water, and sharply walked out; slamming the door behind him. The Section Leader glared at the cup full of clear liquid, and told himself that there were lots of worse things than an empty belly, and sipped carefully at it. It didn't taste altered, so he took a few larger gulps to try to fill his stomach with the less-than-solid substance.

The other Quietly looked at his own half-full cup, and thought to himself in a relative solitude within his own mind.

The silence was broken by a loud '_bang_' that made both of them jump (and Reever choke on his water as he drank it, breathing some of the liquid in his surprise) and look around for the source of the noise.

"Howhow you know _this_ right way?" Someone was demanding, causing both of the prisoners to look up. The ruckus was coming from the vent in the ceiling.

"I still say me could've melted wall ..." The voice said again, and as Reever peered through the bars of the ventilation shaft (in the roof of his own cell) he saw green paws grip it. "Here, blue?"

The answer must have been affirmative, because the edges of the metal sheet binding the opening of the vent to the ceiling melted to jello and the green easily lifted the extra metal out of the way.

"Gremlin?!" Reever almost yelled, before he controlled himself. It wouldn't be wise to make too much noise; otherwise, the guards would probably barge right in. They were already lucky that no one had heard the green banging around in the vents on his way here.

The dragon slid out of the air system and flew over to Reever's bed, examining the place. "Hm. Notnot very cosy here."

"Well, I think that's the general idea." The other man Quietly said. "It is a prison cell. And what are you doing here?"

A second dragon flew out of the vent, and landed next to Gremlin. This one's scales were a deep blue, and it spread out a wing, and the color changed, forming the words: _I just thought we should return the favour. Now hurry; quite a few people are on their way here, and I don't think you should be here when they arrive._

"Thanks," Reever told the two before Gremlin could start melting away the cell's bars as the dragon clearly wanted to do. "but I can sit out another day in here. And a break-out wouldn't help us much when we live here; we'd just get into a bigger mess."

The blue gave the Section Leader a puzzled look that bordered on flat-out confusion. _But they are bringing guns_— Luke began to write.

The Section Chief gave the quickest glance in Quiet Scientist's direction before saying: "_I _shouldn't go anywhere. But maybe you should get Quan out."

"Now _wait_!" For once, the Quiet man was loud. "I have work I have to get back to, and I can't just leave—!"

"You can if you don't know what the hell they're going to do with you!" Reever all but screamed.

There was a quiet lull, and the glaring Section Leader vaguely wondered if the room was sound-proof, explaining the absence of guards checking in to see what the cause of the noise was.  
The two dragons were gazing at him with wide eyes, and Quan audibly gulped before he hesitantly tried to speak. "What … what would they want to do with ..." There was a realization. "... oh."

"So, we get him outout?" Gremlin asked, looking anxious to be away long before the Mean People arrived.

The blue pondered, his color darkening a bit, before asking Quan Hertman: _Where will you go once we release you? Do you have a place to stay, away from here?_

The prisoner paled. "I have nowhere but here."

"Look, you don't need a good place, just any place. A hotel, an inn, a _barn_ will do; you just need to _get out of here_." Reever didn't know why he was pushing the point. The Section Leader just had a bad feeling that was growing worse with each moment they sat idle, and he had always been a man to trust his instincts.

"No." The Quiet man lifted his eyes to meet Reever's. "No, I know what it is like outside of the Order. I have nowhere that I can go, and remain happy."

The Australian felt his teeth grind together.

Luke seemed to understand, and wrote: _Do you wish to do anything before they come for you? Anyone to say goodbye to?_

Quan blinked at that, and nodded.

_Could you get to where you need yo go without getting caught?_

Another nod.

Luke gave Gremlin a look, and the green squeezed pasted the bars with some difficulty before ending up on the unbarred side, where they entered the individual cells and where visitors could talk to the prisoners, and flew over to the door of the Quiet man's cell. His paw went into the lock, and they all heard the protesting grinding of the gears within, before there was a 'snap' of metal finally being broken, and the cell door swung open limply, lock now broken.

Gremlin snorted to the blue, looking slightly peevish. "I _still_ say me could've melted it ..."

Luke just rolled his eyes and showed Quan and Reever his plan. _I distract the guards, and you run when they're not looking._

The blue slid through the bars, and was at the door leading to the outside hallway before the two could object, and opened the door and flew out, flashing all sorts of gaudy colors, and making sharp barking sounds. When the door closed behind him, all sound from the outside ceased, and Reever realized that the room _was_ soundproofed.

Quan was heading to the door, and Gremlin had flown back up and into the vent, resealing the metal to the ceiling as he put it back.

The Quiet man gave the Section Leader one last look, and smiled before following the blue's exit, running in the opposite direction the blue had seemed to be leading the guards. It wasn't too hard. He could hear the men cursing as they tried to grab the dragon, and failed miserably, being lead on a merry chase that would end with them looking around stupidly for the invisible creature, and returning to their post with empty hands.

Qaun ran faster. He could head towards one of the many exits and escape the Order completely … but he didn't want to. The man ran Quietly and with a purpose to where he had last left the Loud man, hoping he could at least say goodbye.

He didn't really care about anything else at this point.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

And so the Exorcist ran.

Running on air, Lenalee saw the Noah just as the girl saw her. Rhode gave an exaggerated wave and a plastered smile, surrounded by buildings falling within themselves as the flames ate them. The Exorcist shuttered at the sight, and at the unmoving bodies scattered across the town.

Lenalee landed a distance from the Noah, unwilling to get to close, and kept her Innocence activated. Rhode just laughed at her. "Finally! I was getting _bored_!" The girl exclaimed, confusingly enough.

The Exorcist remained silent, face cold.

"Aw," the childish face sneered, "upset that I had some fun while I was waiting?" The Noah rolled her eyes at the Exorcist. "Well, if you had gotten here sooner, maybe I wouldn't have bothered playing with the humans—,"

There was blur, and Rhode abruptly stepped to the side, evading the blow from Dark Boots that Lenalee had aimed at her skull. The Exorcist stopped a couple of yards behind the Noah, and Rhode no longer seemed quite as amused as she had been before.

"Well that was _rude_," The pre-teen complained, regaining some of her childish composure. "And I haven't even come here for your Innocence."

"_What do you want_." It wasn't a question; it was a demand.

Lenalee silently congratulated herself on sounding fierce and angry, when inside she felt like shaking. This Noah she had seen in action twice before; the first time she and Allen were left horribly wounded, the second time the girl had somehow twisted Lavi into a person she didn't recognise or ever care to meet again ...

Rhode sighed dramatically, as if the attack moments ago hadn't happened, and they were just two friends chatting at school. "I just wanted to give a message and have a bit a friendly chat! Is that too much to ask?" Then she laughed, though nothing about the situation seemed funny to the Exorcist. "In fact, it's sort of like a deal ..."

Golden eyes stared into violet, and the Noah said to Lenalee. "If you give me my brother, I won't kill yours."

Lenalee felt a chill go down her spine at the threat, but also a twinge of confusion. _Her_ brother?

"Oh ..." Rhode blinked at the Chinese girl's expression, as if reading her mind. "You don't know." The Noah's lips twitched upward. "Allen is the Fourteenth. Or at least, he will be when I'm done with him. So, I need _you_ to make sure that my plan goes smoothly when the time comes; otherwise ..." There was a twisted pleasure smouldering behind the golden eyes that the thought: "I'll slip into your brother's dreams and smash every thought I can find into pieces."

Childish lips curled into a maniac's smile, and said: "Now, isn't that a fair trade, Exorcist?"

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Tyki slid quickly through a bush that was inexpertly cut into a shabby rectangle, and hid behind it as two men strolled by, both carrying buckets and rags.

The Noah didn't want to be seen, and had been taking as much advantage of the stone and plant decorations in the oriental yard as he could, dashing from one 'safe' area to the next.

Though, he had to say, the stone animals were quite ugly and roughly carved, while the bushes all seemed poorly-shaped and under watered.

He knew that his opinion was probably biased do to the fact that he'd been among higher class gardens in England, and because Sheryl wasted no moment with silence, filling all possible moments with chatter about either Rhode, his masterfully cultivated garden, luxurious house, or all of the 'lovely' objects he owned.

Tyki twitched in irritation just thinking about it. He tried to shove away all of the unnecessary thoughts and focused on just navigating around the fenced grounds without getting caught.

The man was having trouble finding a place a kid could hide for any amount of time, and still be able to steal food from the kitchens. The place was like an ant's nest after it was stepped on; drones running around everywhere, ready to crawl up into your pants and bite you.

The Noah had earlier decided to stake out an area around the kitchen to hopefully catch Eeze that way, but it soon seemed that several of the servants had also come up with the same idea to catch their local thief. And they weren't forced to resort to hiding behind bushes or horribly sculpted lions that looked like hippos.

Tyki would've probably retreated back to a less populated area, to rethink his strategy, if he hadn't looked up. The moon was new that night, giving the hiding man the advantage of darkness, and the sky was cloudless, offering a good view or the stars that weren't masked by the lights the town gave off.

That is to say, the view would have been unobscured … if something hadn't flown by just at that moment, past the moon and rapidly towards the wall.

Something with horns, and a distinctly non-bird tail.

Tyki felt his whole body tense, and knew that if anyone had seen him at that moment, his eyes would've been a dangerous gold. He toned down his body's natural reaction and tried to unclench his hands with minimal success. It took several precious moments for the Noah to control himself, and by then the creature had disappeared over the wall.

Well, no matter. It wasn't like he was here on assignment anyway. He could go looking for the Innocence after he had found his missing friend and found out what the hell had happened since he had been gone—

But the same small shadow came back, and Tyki almost audibly growled. Okay, now the little bug was _asking_ for it. He would have grabbed it then, but the dragon mostly hidden by the darkness of the night slid down over the heads of the clueless servants below, right into the kitchen window.

The Noah was surprised out of his instinctual reaction and froze, observing. The beast flew back out into the night, and the process was repeated after a few minutes of waiting.

_Well I'll be damned_. Tyki thought to himself, sorely disappointed. _It wasn't Eeze after all_.

He slipped out of his hiding place carefully and curved around the paths the inept servants were trying vainly to 'guard.' If he couldn't find Eeze tonight, at least he could take out his frustrations on something that could _scream_ when he squeezed it's insides into dust …

The Noah soon passed through the wall, and was following the unknowing shadow to where it was taking it's food, one trip at a time. Tyki could only follow when he saw the thing making it's way back to where it was obviously taking food and had to pause when it flew back towards the house they had both been sneaking around.

The man was soon led to the shabbier area of town, where men stumbled by, stone drunk and intoxicated further with who-knows-what, and where women wearing mashed on make-up and dirty dresses with greatly exposed bosoms would ignore him due to his obvious lack of money do to his rag-tag attire.

If he had been wearing his suit though, it would be an entirely different story. They women probably would've taken a bigger interest and tried harder to get his … attention. Such practices were not unheard of, especially considering that the town had a semi-stable trade item: coal.

The Noah walked on, noticing that the intervals between the creature's flight ahead of him and out of sight were decreasing rapidly. Soon, he would be able to see where the dragon was landing. After he had found where it was going, he would station himself inside it's supposed 'nest' somewhere out of sight, and grab it the next time it returned.

After that, he would crush the thing into ashes between his fingers, and let the dust be carried away by the wind. It looked more than small enough for him to do so, and he had begun to wonder what it would feel like to hold a being's entire life in his hands, and then squash it. Somehow, it seemed a bit more decisive than simply removing a single organ, though ripping out a still-beating heart was far more artful.

Sadly, for Innocence-made creatures, tearing out specific organs wasn't an option.

_Pity_. Tyki thought to himself. It would've been fun to watch something die a slow, lingering death. Maybe he could find a human to continue on if he couldn't find Eeze after a few more nights. Heaven knows after just a day he was already loosing his cool completion, and calm demeanor.

He saw the outline of the dragon fly into a window; and after a few moments, it flew back out again. A slow, twisted smile grew on his face.

Time to have some fun, and to relieve some stress. _Finally_. It was about time he started enjoying his short 'vacation.'

Quickly making his way to the door of the shabby home for rent that looked far worse off than the place his friends had supposed to have been staying, he tried the door. It was locked.

With a small, bark of a laugh, he walked straight through the obstruction, and into the dark, cramped space that was dared to be called living space, and came eye-to-eye with the person he had been searching for.

Well, figuratively speaking. The Noah was still in his slummy clothing and wearing his large, thick spectacles that were probably blocking his own eyes from the child that haven't even registered the fact that he was inside the room yet.

Eeze was currently trying to light a fire in the small, dingy, oven that came with the housing space that wasn't fit for a rat to live in, childish eyes narrowed in concentration as he tried striking a match. Tyki couldn't get his mind to really register the information it was giving to him, so he just did what came naturally.

"Hey, Eeze," He hailed, causing the kid to jump in fright, and grabbed the matchbox from the small, golden-haired child. "You do it like this." The Noah struck the match with practised ease, and tossed the burning object into the open oven.

The kid looked the same as Tyki had last seen him: nose and mouth covered by a face mask, blond hair kept sort and curling on the top of his head, eyes with deep set bags beneath them, and clothing just as shabby as his own with shoes that were held together by improvised wrappings.

"_Tyki_!" Was the joyful cry as the child attached himself to the man's waist, sounding like he almost didn't believe that the man was right in front of him.

The Noah put both arms around the kid, and glanced at the pile of food on the shabby tabletop, reminding himself how he had found his way here.

"Eeze?" He began. "Have you seen any flying … things, lately?" He would ask about what happened the Crack and Momo later.

Eeze was shaking a little, and when Tyki looked the boy in the eye he saw that there were happy tears glistening there. "Nathan was here." The kid sniffed, rubbing at his eyes.  
_Again_ with that 'Nathan' name!

"He brought me all this." Eeze let go of Tyki—looking a little reluctant to do so, as if scared the man would disappear if he didn't keep a close eye on him—and walked over to the pile of food on the three-legged table (apparently, it was supposed to have four legs, but it was operating fine on only a triad of limbs).

Inside Tyki's head, the dots connected, and formed a picture. A picture of a dragon.

"Say, Eeze," The Noah gave a careful glance towards the window which the Innocence was probably going to fly back in any moment. "This Nathan … is he a—?"

The question answered itself when a small brown creature flapped in through the open window like some bat from a horror film—almost knocking into Tyki, as the man was in the dragon's wing space—and landed on the floor, a loaf of semi-warm bread clutched in its hands. It was a dragon all right; far smaller than any of the creatures Tyki had seen so far, but still a dragon complete with all of the necessary scales, wings, and claws.

It was then the beast saw the intruder in their midst, dropped the bread with the rest of the food, and _hissed_, scales rising up and wings mantling. Tyki would've been scared … if the creature hadn't been close to the same size as his foot. Hell, he could fit the tiny thing into a _hat_ for peat's sake!

"No, no!" Eeze rebuked the dragon, much to Tyki's amusement and the beast's astonishment. "It's Tyki, Nathan, Tyki!"

The strange, glowing eyes on the brown myth widened a little bit, looking towards the boy. "Hmm, Tyki you say?" White eyes travelled back to the Noah. "Tyki Mikk, the man whom we've waited for?"

"Yes." The Noah couldn't help but smile at the tone in the child's voice; sure and confident that he would have come back all along.

The dragon snorted and sat down, tearing off a piece of the loaf he had brought with him and swallowed it whole. "Well it's about bloody time. A week more and I would've _forced_ you to leave this disgusting hovel; friend or no."

Tyki blinked, and wondered just who was in charge of the situation.

"And I think you'd be better off without this Tyki fellow anyway." The beast continued, as if the man wasn't standing right in front of him. "He does not look like he could get a good meal for _himself_, let alone take care of _you_." There was a certain ... _flavour_, to the way it was speaking; a I-know-better-than-thou flavour, and Tyki found that he didn't like the taste at all.

"And who the hell are you to say who I can and cannot take care of—?" The man began, but stopped when Eeze lightly tugged on his arm, golden curls bouncing as he shook his head in a negative. The Noah took the child's advice; reluctantly.

"It's not like you need anyone other than Me, after all." The brown pest continued, nose high and one paw gesturing as it spoke, sitting on it's hind legs in a position that resembled a gargoyle's. "I am more than sufficient to take care of all of your needs and wants."

"Then why," Tyki said, mindful to keep his tone civil, though he really wanted to tear the boastful brown to pieces before it could utter another snotty word. "are you letting my friend live in such a horrible place?" _You conceded, worthless little bit of Innocence_—

It eyed him again, acknowledging his existence as another would a cockroach, lips curled back in a partial snarl as it answered. "Because he wanted to." _You stupid, imbecilic man that smells like blood-of-my-kin_—

Both were naturally rejecting the presence of the other, and attacking in anyway they could conceive that would not frighten the child that they both held in high value; silently agreeing that they would tear each other apart later, when the boy would not notice.

Eeze couldn't care less how they reacted to each other. He had the two most important pieces in his world there with him, and he was happy to take what else the gods decided to throw at him as long as he could just stay with the both of them.

Who knows whether or not a deity somewhere far beyond the plane nodded at the boy's suggestion, clasped his hands together, and said it was a done deal?

For the kid, all of the harsh words in the world couldn't take what little he had away. He clutched at Tyki, the family member who he had waited to return, and smiled at Nathan, who had kept him alive long enough to see his brother/uncle again.

It was a good enough deal for him.

But, there was just one thing …

"Tyki," The child asked. "What happened to your hair?"

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Wheezing, sweating, and at the end of his rope, the Quiet man reached the room where the Loud man was kept with only one thought in mind: to say goodbye.

He didn't know whether or not the Loud man would be concious at this point, but he had to say his last words regardless. Stumbling forward, he found the body where so many had laid before, upon the cold steel table, strapped down, skin pale and rotting in some places.

There was no decency given to the Scientist who had turned himself into an experiment; his clothing had been taken away long ago, and there was no cloth to cover his body either. The high temperature of the room was enough to keep any human body from chilling in the open air anyway.

Now in the place he wanted to be, but strangely not sure of what to do next, Quan just removed the I.V. dripping fluids and tranquillizers into the man, injected another fluid into the bloodstream by needle to help the Loud man wake up faster, and sat down nearby, leafing through his recent notes though not really looking at them. He knew his work backwards and forwards anyway.

What took up the Quiet Scientist's mind was the question of time. How long could he linger here before he was found? Had the guards already given up on trying to catch the blue dragon, and noticed his absence? And what of those who the blue had claimed were coming for him already, supposedly with guns?

What would they do with him once they found him? Would they lock him up again, punish him severely for his insubordination, or …

The mind that could calculate numbers and equations with ease stalled at finishing that one, simple sentence.

_Or _… _will they just get rid of me in the simplest possible way_?

A groan from his friend was a welcome distraction, and he quickly jumped up to make sure the Loud man was awaking without any complications. He seemed fine, and just as Loud as the Quiet Scientist remembered him to be.

"Damn," The experiment was saying, trying to move around, but unable to do so because of the restraints holding his naked body to the table. "_Daaaamn_."

"Are you all right?" Was the Quiet inquiry.

"Do I look the hell '_all right_,' to you?!" Was the Loud response.

Quan just shrugged, smiling to himself, and undid the leather bonds holding his friend down.

"Agh." The clothless man Loudly complained. "My mouth tastes like I just ate the entire contents of a used litter box ..."

The properly dressed man took off his white coat and handed it silently to the other for decency's sake, and waited Quietly for him to get comfortable. The experiment was strangely quiet as he dressed, glancing at Quan with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought after that last dose, I wasn't going to be waking up again?" It was a muted question, and demanded an answer. The Loud man knew the statistics of his timetable was well as the Quiet one did.

Quan gave a shrug and a smile. "I'd thought it would be nice to have one last talk."

There was a Loud snort. "What's going on Hertright? You and I both know you're not giving me all the information."

There was a Quiet sigh. They knew each other too well, it seemed. "Well, Lawrence, I have reason to believe that I'm going to die shortly as well."

The room that was warm enough to come close to rivalling a sauna went cold.

"What in the world did you _do_?!" The Loud man exploded. His own immediate death he had no qualms over, but the doom of his comrade, who was still of worth to the war, and Order …  
Quan, feeling strange and almost giddy, laughed a little. "I let a dragon out of a cage. Two, actually." The Quiet man felt slightly sick, and his arms wouldn't stop shaking. "I guess, that's enough for me to be sent to the ninth ring of hell now, isn't it? That's where I've heard the traitors go anyway ..."

The Loud man was shaking his head, either in disbelief or in a negative statement over what the Quiet man just said, neither of the two present really knew. "You need to get out of here you idiot, before they _kill_ you—,"

"That's what the Section Leader said too." The shorter of the pair said. "It was Mr. Wenham, not Mr. Peck, and he seemed very caring. To bad we didn't get to work for him instead; it might have been nice."

The Loud man blinked, and stated yet again to the thick Scientist in front of him. "Yeah, but you need to _go now_—!"

"No." It was a quietest word spoken, but had the most powerful effect. Lawrence sat on his dissection table, stunned into silence. "I have no where to run, and no place to hide." The Quiet man continued, almost taking to himself now. "I've lived out in the world before, and I know what it's like out there. Where people cut apart other people, and bullets fly from the battlefield to the innocents. Where those that try to do good still end up dark, twisted, and bent in the end ..."

The Loud man had never heard his companion speak so much before. It was a astounding.

"... I'm at the end of my road Lawrence Mandike." The Quiet Scientist confessed, revealing his friend's full name. "I just want to live out the few moments I have left, and say that I died with a clear conscience."

"Don't we all, Quan Hertright?" The Loud experiment said, looking his friend in the eye as he voiced the other name seldom spoken. "Don't we all?"

"Lawrence?" The voice that had been unwavering now broke. "I don't want to die. I don't want to live like this any more; but I don't want to die."

The wording was contradicting in itself, and so were the actions taken up until this point in time, but somehow the experiment understood what the scientist was trying to say. There was no more time for voicing thoughts, or giving comfort, however.

The door to the room was opened, and they were found. Cold, efficient eyes looked from one from one man to the other before lifting the gun, and pulling the trigger.

There was the sound of the gun discharging. And then the explosive sound was heard again as the second shot was fired. And then, there was a still silence.

Only one living man stepped out from the room. Curtly, he ordered his waiting 'backup' of two guards to clean up the mess inside, and to dispose of the trash in the usual way.

They complied; carrying away the corpses that were not Loud, nor Quiet, but Cold and Silent. The guards were rough with the dead flesh, uncaring of the bullet wound through the shorter one's heart and the Quietly grieving look on his unmoving face, or of the nakedness of the second, taller body, that was covered in strange rashes where the flesh had already started to rot before he died, and the Loudly furious look he had frozen on his features as death snatched him away on the form of a shot straight through his skull.

But, the decaying lips did not move in protest of the disrespectful and unsentimental treatment they received.

Corpses make no deals.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

The villagers of the small, lake-side town of Chliselbourg, were fearful of returning, even after the smoke stopped floating into the sky. As mice they crept back in small groups, each with the ability to run as fast as their legs could take them back along the escape route if the witch was still there.

But their fear was unnecessary; the only person there was a young Chinese girl, and she was trying to gather up all those that had been bewitched. The groups that came back helped her as they realised what she was trying to do.

Soon, most of the town was back, and trying to repair the damage that had been done. Some of the people that had been acting as if their minds had been drawn into a place far away by some unkown spell 'woke up,' and assisted as well, though quite a few were just told to lay back down because of the burns they had sustained while being immobile.

The Exorcist Lenalee Lee, as the Finder Fyodor told everyone she was, seemed very relived by this fact, especially when the fellow Finder, Anna, awoke form her own 'coma' a few hours after the first awakenings began.

But a few unlucky souls did not wake. They laid as if dead until about three days after the initial attack, the time at which they died of dehydration.

The virgin girls were returned to their homes on all shores of the lake after Fyodor had translated what the Exorcist had told him, and also led him to the island where the girls waited for rescue. Quite a few boats had to be used for this endeavour, but there was no need to ask any favours. A majority of the young sailors were more than happy to ferry the young ladies home on the boats that had escaped crippling damage from the flames, and talk—or flirt—with them the hours it would take to cross the expanse of the lake.

Reconstruction of the damaged buildings began. Many of those who had lost their homes (and a few who had lost their ships) took up residence in the very same inn that the Exorcist had resided it. The Chinese girl even gave up her spacious room to two families who she decided need the housing more than she did, much to the old Finder's distress. Fyodor was seemingly supposed to make sure that the Exorcist had suitable living conditions, and his orders came from the Supervisor himself.

The girl reassured him that her brother would understand, though Lenalee looked said and troubled as she said it. The Exorcist was actually quite comfortable camping outside in a tent provided by the resident Finders, and had no qualms.

But she did have worries of her own. And fears.

And deals presented by Noah in the form of blackmail eating her from the inside out.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Lenalee woke from her third nightmare of the night, sweating and shaking, but thankfully not screaming. She didn't know what she would say to the Finders sleeping in the tent next to hers if she woke them, or how she would explain it. Fyodor was the type of old man that would ask about the nightmare, trying to be comforting, but really being awkward.

The girl didn't like lying, and she had already lied to the kind old Finder twice. Once, about what had attacked the village (she had told him it was a high level akuma), because she hadn't wanted word of a Noah attacking reaching any one high up. If anyone knew about it, there would be questions and the need for detailed reports on every single word the Noah had said.

And the other lie had been when he had asked, not so long ago, if she was all right. She had said that she was.

Lenalee wasn't all right.

Rhode Camelot had threatened her brother's life, accused Allen of also being a Noah, demanded that Lenalee help her get Allen back, or else she would destroy Komui from the inside out.  
Then the Noah had, before the Exorcist could react, left with the cryptic remark of waiting for the Exorcist's answer. But the Noah would only be waiting _after_ she had proved that she could and would carry out her threats; after she proved she could hurt Komui, probably just for the fun of watching the Exorcist squirm.

And now, Lenalee was forced to wait.

And worry.

And feel like she was going to be sick from the stress of it all.

The girl gave up on trying to sleep and got up, intending to go wash her face off in the stream they had camped nearby and get a drink. She opened the exit flap of the tent, and found a person sitting there.

For a moment, she thought it was just Fyodor trying to make sure that she didn't get 'lost' again, but she noticed that the person sitting in the dark was too tall and skinny to be the old man. Her eyes adjusted further, and she identified the young man to be Droog, and blind beggar that lived in the town.

The young man cocked his head at the Chinese girl, showing that he heard her, even if he couldn't see her.

"What are you doing here?" Lenalee asked in a whisper, though she knew he probably couldn't understand what she was saying, maybe he would her her questioning tone overlaying the words. "You should go see Inna; she's been worried sick about you."

The beggar shrugged at her English words, and got out of her way as she pushed him aside so that she could climb out of her tent. "Where have you been hiding?" Lenalee was mostly talking to herself at this point, and Droog had grabbed his walking stick in one hand while placing the other on the girl's shoulder, indicating that he would like to follow her wherever she was going.

The Exorcist rolled her eyes, allowed the blind beggar to latch on, and continued thinking aloud to herself. "I'll have to talk to you when Fyodor wakes up; then you and I can have a real conversation."

There wasn't a response, and Lenalee hadn't been expecting one. The only sound she heard from the tall beggar was the tapping of his guiding pole as they walked along.

The beggar had been unaccounted for since the attack, and Mrs. Jabuk's youngest daughter had been looking for him all over, her newly returned older sister keeping an eye on her. The old mother of the two had been so relived to have her oldest daughter back and to find that her oldest had returned covered in jewellery that she had stopped holding onto her youngest with a deathlike grip. Though, the loosening in her watch was also probably do to the fact that the beggar was nowhere in sight.

When they reached the small stream the Exorcist had been seeking, she carefully dislodged his hand, bent down to wash her face, and to wake herself further. Droog listened for a moment, searching the ground before him with his stick, and smiled when he heard it splashing instead of tapping.

He bent down and, after groping around with searching hands for a moment, washed his own face, neck, and hands before getting a drink too. Lenalee looked at the beggar out of the corner of her eye, observing how even after his blindfold was off he kept his eyes closed. It was strange, but what happened next was stranger.

"So, Inna was worried? About me?" The beggar queried in unaccented English, smiling wide with his eyes still shut. "She should know better; silly child."

Lenalee stared with her hands still dripping water as the not-so-blind man opened his eyes, and looked at her with pupils of grey, irises of white, and the sclera of his eyes black: a dragon's pair of eyes.

"It wasn't very polite of you to steal all of my company away, you know." The man-dragon commented. "Especially when I was worried that the awful witch that ruined my town had gone and taken all of my virgin treasures too."

"You're—," The Exorcist began to exclaim, but Droog finished for her.

"Yes, yes, I'm the great and all-powerful dragon of the lake, virgin-eater, treasure-hoarder, demi-god, _et cetera_, _et cetera_." The dragon-man waved his arms in gesture, indicating that he had been called many things as he lived here. "Now, I believe we left off our last talk about some-sort of Black Order?"

Lenalee was speechless for a moment, remembering how the beggar had bumped into her quite literally, how rude the 'dragon' had been very shortly after, and lastly how the dragon _and _blind man had been strangely absent when the Noah had attacked the town.

Unaware of the growing anger rising up in the girl, the beggar tried to start the conversation, much to his own doom. "And you even had the discourtesy to _touch my possessions_." He said, probably thinking about the moss that had been torn off of his home's walls and the other things Lenalee had examined while captive, irises glowing mutely in the dark as he added what he thought to be a dramatic pause.

Well, Lenalee took that pause after such a ridiculous statement to explode at him.

"_Possessions_!?" She surprise the beggar with her scorn. "What about the people who _died_ a few days ago? Or those who _lost their homes_? You obviously knew what was going on; why didn't you try to stop the Noah? You could at least have tried to help put out the fires!"

Droog flinched back, wondering whether or not to jump into the river and towards safety. He tried talking it out first.

"_I _am _not_ a fighter!" He said in his own defense. "If you want someone to tear akuma and 'Noah' apart, I'd recommend a _red_."

"You seemed pretty violent when you were _swallowing_ me!" The Exorcist shot back. By now, both of them were standing, and she hated the fact that the beggar was a good foot taller than she was.

"I, madam, am a cultured and sophisticated creature." Droog argued with narrowed eyes, repulsed at her terminology. "And I did not 'swallow' you, as you so crudely put it. I safely and carefully _stored_ you where you could no longer attempt to harm me, and brought you to my home in a way that any other intelligent creature would be _honored _to experience!"

Somehow, the flabbergasted expression on the dragon's face, and the way he crossed his arms and looked supremely insulted, made Lenalee pause. Then giggle. Then flat-out laugh when the beggar pouted at her reaction.

"And what, may I ask, is so funny?" Droog said, feeling insulted. If the whole Order she came from was like this, maybe he should rethink going there.

"I'm sorry—I'm sorry," She said, trying to catch her breath. "It's just ... _honored experience_?" Lenalee broke out in giggles yet again, hugging her chest so the racking laughter wouldn't shake her apart.

The man-dragon snorted in a way that reminded her of Ammy. "Yes. A _very_ honored experience, as most of my species only get to experience it once."

The Exorcist rubbed the tears from her eyes, wondering how dragons as big as Smudge would be able to fit.

"If you are quite finished," Droog said, running a hand through his hair. "We really need to talk about you bringing me to the Black Order. I believe there are other ... 'dragons' as you call us, are there?" A hope sparkled in his eyes Lenalee didn't understand, like a person that had been stranded on a desert island and could now see hope of rescue and return to civilization.

And the she remembered the comment Fyodor had made so long ago about Droog living in the town for about four years. She looked at the man-shaped dragon with new perspective. A person far from any of his family, or race, and stuck in a strange land with a strange language.

"Yes," She answered him, and smiled when his face lit up. "There are plenty of dragons where you're going."

Droog jumped up, unable to contain his happiness, and yelled out in joy. When he had calmed, he excitedly asked which colors were there.

"Black," Lenalee supplied, and he almost seemed to dance at the word. "Green, yellow, orange, gray, and red I believe."

Now he was dancing. Running around like a madman and bouncing off of trees before landing to go jump in the stream, heedless of moisture getting into his shoes and layering his pants.

He seemed to be either laughing or crying, the girl couldn't tell which.

When he finally stopped moving, there were tears marking a path down his face, but he was also smiling so wide that it looked like his mouth would come apart at the seems. "Did you give them names, or did they keep their own?"

Lenalee raised an eyebrow, and told the silver that her friends had named the dragons. Droog deflated a little, and washed his face for a second time to get the tears off. "Oh well, I guess it would have been too much to hope for anyway. It's not like I kept my own name either."

"You didn't?" The Exorcist couldn't help but ask.

"No. I often let other people name me as they will, because my real name is far too uncommon to try to lie into normalcy, and it helps to catalog what I've been through so far. This name I have now little Inna gave me." The dragon explained with a grin as he put his blindfold back on, hiding his dragon eyes, and picked up his cane. "It translates roughly into 'friend.'"

"How many names have you been through?" Lenalee wondered just how long the dragon had been active like this, and why no one in the Order had found him before.

"As a wondering human, I've had about nine. As a dragon, I've heard murmurings and prayers to my form of about twice that many." He said, and reminisced a bit. "Though, I don't think 'Oh-Great-and-Glorious-Silver-God' can really count as a name, now that I think about it ..."

The girl was surprised, but before she could ask anymore questions, and dragon gave a few of his own while holding onto her shoulder to guide him through the forest. "Now, can I bring a few things to this Order? I would hate to leave my collection unguarded."

"Of course you can," Lenalee reassured him. "We can sent as much as you want ahead of us, so that it will all be waiting for you when we get there. Though, no virgins." She said sternly, and the dragon laughed and waved the comment off. The Exorcist still didn't know why he had collected so many girls, but would wait to ask.

"Very good! But I _must_ have one more thing." Droog grew serious, and he squeezed the girl's shoulder once to make sure she was paying attention. "Inna must come with me."

"Inna?" And then Lenalee understood. "She's your Accommodator?"

"Yes, I have been waiting for her to come onto being for a very long time." Droog nodded to himself. "I am surprised you know the word, though I am sure most of my kind just call their Accommodators the Chosen. And I have also heard Fyodor call you Exorcist, though you are an Accommodator as well."

Lenalee nodded. "The only problem with Inna coming with you is that I highly doubt that her sister and Mrs. Jabuk would be allowed to come."

"I don't see why anyone would want Mrs. J to come," Droog grumbled. "But why not Larrisa? She does not hit me on the head with blunt objects ..."

The Exorcist began to explain: "The only people allowed at the order are those that work inside the Order. No non-essential staff are allowed. Even the cooks, nurses, Finders, and guards have to double as janitorial staff, and I don't think either of Inna's family members are cook or Finder material." Lenalee didn't bother mentioning the Scientist and Exorcist positions; she didn't think that the two would fit in any of those categories either.

"Hmm ... it will not be too much of a problem." Droog finally decided. "So, it is settled? You will send my personal items forward, and we will lastly leave together with Inna?"

Lenalee couldn't see the beggar's dragon eyes, but felt him looking in her general direction as they stopped in front of her tent. "Droog," She said as she held the dragon's seemingly human hand in hers to give her next words some solid support.

She would ignore the Noah's words for now. There was nothing she could do about them, and she didn't even know whether or not Rhode could actually hurt Komui without knowing where he was first.

She would forgive the dragon on disappearing when the town had needed his assistance.

So, for now ...

"You have yourself a deal."

**End 34. Deals**

AN: Well, this is the longest chapter I've ever written. And, the saddest. Planning character death and doing character death are two totally different things, but my Beta has reassured me that the death was a good one.

The next chapter will come out next Tuesday, so I'll see you all then.

-knux33

P.S.: A WARNING: I'd just like to let you all know that this fic is going into 'open season.' Characters will die. Not anytime soon, but they will from here on out whenever I reach the appropriate time in the plot. So, if you don't like that, I'd advise treading carfully with this fic from now on.


	35. A Piece of Cake

**35. A Piece of Cake**

Komui stared listlessly at the coffee sitting stagnant in his favorite mug, and gave a very long, loud, and dramatically amplified sigh, disturbing the warm liquid and causing it to ripple and wash against it's hardened clay confines.

He was very disappointed. Lenalee had called in recently to send along the message that she had found the Innocence, gotten all of the other virgin girls home, and would be on her way once they had sent along all of the dragon's supposed belongings.

Normally that would've been good news to receive. But, considering how many belongings the dragon _did_ have, it would be _days_ until Lenalee would even be able to start on her journey home, let alone make his coffee. He looked at the paperwork before him, and let his eyes slid off of what he should be doing to the wall of his office.

The only reason that the Supervisor could get away with slaking off was because the scary Secretary was apparently busy doing some of her own paperwork in her room (not the room with the hole in the ceiling, as she had been moved out of that one).

The older brother sighed yet again to the lone audience of himself. It was hard having to wait for her to come home, but at least the first of the dragon's belongings would be arriving today, marking a definite step forward in the wait for his little sister. And he was slightly curious to see just what would take the creature so long to pack; as far as he knew, the only other dragon with a fetish for objects of any kind was Gremlin.

The little green loved to hoard shiny objects like a magpie, and hide them in various holes hidden throughout Komui's room. The Supervisor's mood darkened slightly at another thought. The dragon had been lucky to escape whatever the Secretary wanted done to him, that much was certain, though the Scientist that had supposedly freed the dragon was nowhere to be found.

Both Gremlin and Reever had argued that a man named Quan Hertright existed, and had let the green escape when his orders had clearly been otherwise. And both had also proven to be worried about the Quiet Scientist, especially after Komui had found in his own search through one of the more carefully organized stacks of paperwork.

Apparently, by the Order's records, Quan Hertright had never worked for the Order, sent foot in the Order, or been documented as existing in any of the files he looked through. It was like the man had never existed.

But, the most troubling part was that the person _had _existed. Komui wouldn't doubt Reever on that one; especially when he could still remember the conversation he had had a while ago with a Quiet and Loud man about their experiments that had matched Reever's description.

He sighed quietly, and sank deeper into his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he removed his glasses. He only had one more matter to attend to today, and then he would be able to go to bed for the night.

Komui quickly put his glasses back on as his office door opened, and a short head peaked in. Soon, Allen Walker, Howard Link, and the small child Cain were inside and comfortably sitting on the couch that the Supervisor had demanded be kept inside his office.

He smiled at the group. "Welcome back."

It was strange watching the different reactions to his words. Allen seemed to light up, and his gray eyes sparkling with a deep happiness. The Inspector merely nodded in acknowledgement, eyes scanning the room in an ever constant search for something out of place to note down. The black-haired child stared with wide eyes and shifted a bit uneasily, feeling out of place.

"This is Cain, Komui." Allen introduced the youngest addition. "He's with Herus."

"_Lord_ Herus." The boy was surprisingly quick to correct. "And Lord Herus would like you to know—you're the Leader here, right?" The child in loose gray robes interrupted himself. Once Komui had replied in the affirmative, he continued: "To know that it is an honor for him to be here, but he also has a message of the gravest importance to impart with you."

The Supervisor noticed that the blond German rolled his eyes at the announcement, apparently thinking very little of the 'message of importance.' Komui decided not to force the two to wait while Cain probably told him something they had already heard themselves.

"Go ahead and grab some Dinner, Allen." He shooed the Exorcist away. "You can fill out your paperwork tomorrow, and I'm sure you need your rest anyway."

The gray eyes seemed surprised at the abrupt dismissal, but happy that he could eat to his heart's content at the same time. Allen got up faster than a hound at the call of his master, and was out the door with Link not far behind.

Cain blinked and missed most of their exit. The child sat deserted on the wide sofa, looking so completely dumbfounded at his sudden aloneness that Komui had to wrestle down a laugh. He had seen that look on Lenalee's face when she had been young many times; especially after finding something new and unexpected.

"Now," He said nicely, relaxing further in his own chair. "What's the message?"

The child snapped his attention back to the Supervisor, looking almost ashamed to be caught in his own confusion. "Lord Herus wants you to know about the End of the world." The boy that could be no more than six said in a tone of someone who knew exactly what needed to be said.

Komui nodded, remembering that it had been reported that the child and dragon were connected on a deep mental level. "Go on." The man encouraged, wanting to hear what the 'Lord' had to say with his own ears. "We've got all night if you want to talk that long."

The child seemed a bit nervous at the possibility, so the Chinese man quickly reassured him that he could also go to bed at any time he wanted, because they could talk tomorrow as well.  
Cain sighed in relief, sinking into the couch. He looked so small sitting there, that Komui almost worried that he could be swallowed by the piece of furniture, but the child dressed in gray robes like some sort of mock wizard simply began his narrative, careful to say the words exactly as Lord Herus did.

**//DRDRDR//**

Link was always surprised to see how fast Walker could move when food was involved. Especially considering how stiff he felt his own legs to be after those last few hours of flying. No matter how many times he went up, he still felt sore all over.

The Inspector simply decided that he wasn't build for flying.

Making sure that Allen didn't get lost on the last few turns, he arrived at the Cafeteria with the Exorcist just in time to see a small group of Finders leave. The large room still had a few scattered clusters of people eating, but the majority of the building seemed to have just finished their Dinner, and had already headed to bed or back to work for the night-shift.

The Exorcist didn't pause to observe, he just continued on his single-mined mission of getting as much food he could, and stuffing it down his throat. Link shadowed him and continued glancing around, searching for something he knew he wouldn't be able to see. A little blue something.

He noted his own discomfort and pondered on it as Allen greeted the extremely joyful Head Chef. He knew that Luke was probably exploring the library, not waiting every single moment for his return, but it still felt ... sad, not having the invisible weight return to his shoulder. And Link didn't have the faintest clue why he felt that way.

The Exorcist was rolling away the food he had ordered on a wheelbarrow (anything smaller wouldn't have been able to handle the massive amounts of edibles) when Link stepped up to get himself something to eat.

Normally, he liked to make his own meals if he could (especially after learning at least three ways to kill someone by poison with natural-seeming fatality effects) but the Inspector had learned in his time at the Order (and with Jerry) that cooks were very easily insulted by such actions, and that accepting another's cooking was a lesser evil than death-by-poison.

Especially considering the lengths the Head Chef went to let other people know _exactly_ how he felt about them 'purposely insulting' his cooking.

"Hello darling!" Link tried not to flinch. Such pitched and dramatic words should never be allowed to come out of a man's mouth. _Never_. "What you you like this fine evening?"

"Just a slice of whatever cake you have presently." Link said, short and to the point.

"Oh, I'm sorry," The chef looked horribly embarrassed, and seemed to glance towards the back of the kitchen. It was hard to tell exactly where Jerry was looking, considering that he wore a pair of sunglasses day and night. "But little Lerrel just ate the last strawberry cake we have; I've already started Frank on mixing a batch of chocolate for another cake, but it's gonna take a little while, honey."

The blond blinked, and discreetly tried to took over the Chef's shoulder to glare at whoever had eaten what could've been his. What he saw was two very satisfied-looking purple heads licking their jaws clean of the evidence.

Letting a '_huff_' of air out his nose become his only outward sign of agitation, he marched to go wait for his cake by Walker, who had begun conquering the landmass of food before him. Little grapes rolled away in fear at the invading fork and knife, and chunks of steak were glutinously devoured by the tyrant that was Allen's mouth to become part of his country: the stomach.

The Inspector couldn't help but watch with a slight fascination. The Exorcist had missed meals during the mission, and his somehow larger than normal appetite reflected on that. And what was a big meal to Walker was a king's feast to anyone else; a meal to be consumed by a large group of people, not a party of one.

Link was focused on watching his charge simply eating what no other human being could (besides possibly Arystar Krory on a hungry day, anyway) that he almost jumped right off of the bench when the invisible guest he had been waiting for arrived.

Luke didn't land right on his shoulder (which was probably a god thing, considering how Link barely managed to not react to what he _did_ choose to do) as he usually seemed want to do, but simply placed a clawed paw on the hand Howard was currently resting on the table well away from Walker's food.

The Inspector—after stiffening at the touch, and then realizing who it was—carefully let his eyes slide to the empty space. The little 'hand' on top of his own patted him in response, and then was gone. Strangely happy at the fact that the dragon had been careful not to betray his mostly-unknown presence, but still made sure to 'welcome' him home, Link decided to start people-watching.

Because there were only a few people to actually watch at this late hour, it wasn't a very entertaining pastime, but it was less traumatizing then watching Allen begen to eat his dessert with such a savage enthusiasm that it should be banned from any and all viewers under the age of eighteen.

Eventually, Jerry called Link over for his slice of the cake, and the Inspector went to collect his food as the last of the minority that had been there before Walker and himself left. The Exorcist was still munching happily away at his desert, a bit over half-way finished with his take-over of the small country of Dessertotopia.

Though, there seemed to be some debate in the back of the kitchen.

"Hey, that's My cake." Rel squawked, though Ler was already starting to stuff his face with the gooey chocolate pastry. "You can't just _give_ pieces of it _away_."

Jerry let out a mother-like sigh, and gave Link his slice (with a cup of milk that hadn't been asked for, but was silently appreciated) while looking over his shoulder at the two-headed purple. "Now, now; it's good to _share_, pumpkin."

If any dragon could pout, Rel did. "But it was one of my slices, so now the Me-that-is-Greedy has _more_!"

Apparently, any and all food that was given to the dual-headed beast was divided evenly so that the two heads wouldn't squabble. Jerry simply snatched up on of the slices from the other head's pile and handed it to a semi-surprised Link as well.

Ler, the head that had just been slighted, choked on what he was eating. "You gave it to Allen?!" He, like his other half, squawked.

(Trans: "You're going to give it to Allen?!")

"Good idea!" Jerry praised Ler, and turned to the Inspector again. "You can just give that extra piece to Allen if you don't want it, deary."

The Inspector expertly carried both plates and his glass of milk back to the table where Allen had finished devouring his meal, and placed the extra food item in front of the Exorcist, who took it was a great and loud "Thank-you!" before inhaling that last morsel.

Howard, on the other hand, tried to enjoy Jerry's cooking. It wasn't very hard to do; the man, if a bit strange, was a fabulous cook. The chocolate cake seemed to melt together into one warm, tantalizing substance as he closed his mouth, and didn't have any flaws that he could pick out as he savored the first, oven-warmed bite.

He'd have to ask Jerry for the recipe later. Right now, Allen had finished all of the food in front of him, and was now staring at Link's as-of-yet undevoured slice of cake, probably aiming to conquer it himself if the opportunity arose. The Inspector glared at the Exorcist from the corner of his eye, first bite still lingering inside his mouth.

He swallowed it down as said: "Walker, if you want more food I'd recommend going to ask the Chef for more, not drooling at my cake."

Allen seemed to think about it, and even got up to go get more food, when the unthinkable happened. The little window that opened into the kitchen and allowed everyone to order their meals directly slid shut, a 'we are closed!' sign decorating it's exterior.

Gray eyes widened and turned round in surprise, as the gates of heaven had just been slammed shut in front of his face. Link froze, a second forkful of the delicious cake halfway to his mouth.

There was a moment of tense silence before Allen slowly turned around, his gaze fixing onto the warm, sugarcoated dessert. Slowly, the Inspector allowed his burdened utensil to gracefully return to his plate, watching Walker's every move as he stood up, his chair screaming in protest as he rose.

They stood in a stalemate, both waiting for the other to make the first move.

Link flexed his fingers. "I'd advise you to leave my food alone, Walker. You've already had your fill, and I haven't even begun to properly eat."

Allen gave a smile that seemed a little black. "If you knew how hungry I still was, you'd be begging to give me that cake, with a full-blown apology to boot."

And then, the first move was made. Howard stuck, trying to grab his food and run, but Allen was quick too; Crown Belt had stretched out quicker than the Crow's hand, and 'grabbed' onto the edge of the plate.

But, before the porcelain could be reeled back in Allen's direction, Link did get a handhold, and both of them were left glaring at one another with hungry eyes. "_Let go_!" They demanded of each other at the same time, and began pulling for all they were worth.

The Inspector almost bucked under the pressure; and Allen just stuck his tongue out, looking to be at ease as his Innocence did the work for him. Link felt one of his eyebrows twitch; if he wasn't as strict with his emotions as he was, the Inspector was pretty sure he would've been shouting out: "_Cheater_!" right now.

So, instead of resorting to childish whining, he used his brain and did the next best thing. He simply grabbed the slice right off of the plate and let the glass object go. It flew halfway across the room before Walker could stop it, and by that time the Inspector had already gotten precariously close the the exit doors of the Cafeteria, and safety.

Allen wasn't having any of it. Leaving the plate to chatter uselessly against the table, he stretched out his white cloak again, this time aiming to grab the fleeing Inspector by the legs to impede (if not stop) his attempted escape.

But, instead of just catching Link, the strands tripped him up, causing him to fall forward and for the cake to—in turn—fly out of his hands. Straight towards the doors. Right as someone was opening them.

All the two could do was watch with horror as the chocolate glob hit Bridget Fay full-on in the face, Cain jumping behind the Secretary like a frightened rabbit as he saw the unknown object hit. A majority of the dessert slid onto the ground after the initial impact, though quite a large amount of the substance sticking to the woman's face like a brown and slimy mud pie.

And so they stood. Allen de-activated his Innocence, and tried to look as inconspicuous as possible while Link slowly stood up—carefully making sure that his cake-covered gloves were out of sight—and stood still, hoping that if he didn't move the Secretary would somehow not notice him. Cain just stared at the mess on the floor, and Ms. Fay carefully wiped off her face with a handkerchief.

Once her face no longer resembled mud, Bridget's cold and cutting gaze slid between both of the possible assailants in the large room.

"Lady-Mam?" The six-year-old said quite seriously, breaking the silence those twice his age wouldn't dare. "Lord Herus says that you missed a bit right _there_." He pointed with one finger demonstratively at his own left eyebrow.

Sure enough, there was one small determined crumb clinging there, and she took one finger to her smooth brow to dislodge it.

And then, she let the hellful _wrath-of-a-woman-cake-covered_ loose upon those unfortunates before her, not sparing then a single scathing syllable.

**//DRDRDR//**

Toma swallowed audibly, thinking that this was not a good idea _at all_. Lewis reassured the Finder in that slow, meandering voice of his that they would be fine; it was Larg that had been doing most of the hard work anyway, ferrying them around the world for so long. Lewis was happy to help out for a change.

"Be_siiiides_," The brown haired Crazy said, in a mixture of how he had first spoken when he was found with Larg and how he communicated now. "It's not like I can't take'em down _eeeas_y. They're just a couple of muscle heads."

Toma wondered if Lewis had somehow found a way to get back to his 'addiction,' because the man was talking pure nonsense. The two owners of the two red dragons they had somehow managed to find on one of the many islands scattered off of Greece were both as big as the biggest Finders Toma had ever seem, if not more so.

As if to emphasis this thought, one of the two—a bear-like man with black hair that frizzed around his head and a beard at least a foot long—growled savagely and flexed the bulging muscles on his naked upper torso in a show of power.

The other, just as large and gruesome as the first, though all the hair on his head had been shaved off, including his eyebrows, snarled loudly as well so he wasn't outdone by his companion. With his hairy chest and protruding ears, he looked like a mutated form of a de-evolved gorilla.

Apparently, it was a custom for reds to establish a hierarchy. Because the two dragons (Ragg and Armm) had already had their contest and were still recovering in a few places, and it would be unfair for Larg to challenge them now, it was changed into a contest between their handlers.

"So," One of the two new reds, Toma couldn't tell which, said. "Whose gonna fight who first?"

Larg seemed to think to himself for a moment. The Finder could identify him easily, he was bigger than the other two, and was a deeper shade of red. "My Crazy will just have to fight yours one at a time. I think the hairy Crazy wants to go first, though."

Oh yeah, the big fuzzy brute was foaming at the mouth in anticipation, big globs of bubbly spit running brown his already dirty beard. Toma wondered if the poor idiot had rabies.

"To true, to true." The dragon that hadn't spoken yet laughed. "Well, let 'em have at it then!"

The three were perched around the humans, forming a semblance to big, uneven red walls, and proceed to get comfortable. Apparently watching fights was just as entertaining to them as doing all of the snarling and biting themselves.

The bear of a man lumbered forward, rolling his shoulders with a dim smile. Lewis started towards his opponent as well, much to his Finder's distress.

"_Sir Lewis_—!" But three gigantic lizards _shh_ed him with their hisses, and so he worried in silence.

The two chosen combatants were just about ten feet away from each other now, and the hairy troll looked immeasurably big standing next to the brown-haired skeleton he was facing, and was more than twice as wide at the shoulders.

Lewis smiled, eyes wandering to the red beasts in a loose circle around them. The Crazy's smile grew just a tad wider. _Red_.

The bear swung at the distracted skeleton, but the young man had more than enough time to dodge it; all that muscle had to move slowly if it was moving at all. Lewis was taking his time in admiring the different shades of red each of the dragons had. The smaller two were very alike in their coloring; bright and shining, like the red oozing from a small cut on the elbow, or knee.

_His_ red was a darker shade, closer to a wound that had begun to conjugate and seal over. Or an injury that was deeper than most, and let the blood flow properly out, instead of slowly escaping.

The brown eyes, intelligent but slightly unfocused, returned their attention to the bumbling bull that was roaring in it's inability to land a direct him on him. Lewis' smile slipped away, and he tried to concentrate on finding a way to win.

He knew that neither of them could break anything constructed of bone, it was one of the boons given to those that gave up their minds to the red, and he himself still found ways to sneak sips now and then, even with Toma keeping an eye on him.

_But I need it_. He didn't feel bad about the deception. It was necessary.

Lewis surprised the raging animal of a man by leaping past his swinging arms and popping him a good one right in the nose, before jumping away again as the hairy man clutched at his injured face with both hands, howling as blood oozed between his fingers from his nasal cavity.

_I can't live without it. I don't like living without it. It hurts living without it. How could a person like Toma ever understand_?

Before the quivering mound of muscles could recover, Lewis gave his opponent a kick as hard as he could right in the tender area between his legs. The howling abruptly cut of, and the troll tumbled over like a tree cut straight through the base and Lewis walked away, leaving the other man huddled on the ground whimpering to himself and unable to even scream.

_It helps me forget the past and to stop worrying about the future. I need it. Or else, I'll go insane._

The gorilla shuttered from his own corner and cupped his own precious man-parts, looking up at his own red, seemingly begging to not have to go and face the brown demon.

Toma stood where he was. If he hadn't been wearing bandages over the lower half of his face, everyone would've been able to see just how far his jaw dropped in amazement. Lewis waltzed over, a far-off look returning to his eyes as he elected to sit on Larg's broad arm and enjoy the sun.

"See?" The young man with messy brown hair said. "As easy as eating _paaan_cakes."

The Finder blinked, and realized that he never wanted to find out if Lewis had a bad side. "Sir Lewis," He said, after taking a few calming breaths, "I believe we should return to Headquarters with what we've found."

"Oh?" The young man said. Larg would listen to Lewis, and so would the other two now that the skeleton had asserted his 'dominance.' Toma was a bit grateful for that at least; he only had to convince the Crazy man now.

"Yes." The Finder asserted. "So that we can rest a bit before going any further in our ... search." Toma had been able to communicate with the Order the few times they came close enough to a town or city for him to use a phone while Larg was gorging on the local wildlife or domestic animal populations.

And so far, it seemed that his standing order was to simply get the group back home as soon as he could. And he had been trying to do so, but Lewis had been determined to 'help' the cause, and find the reds that Larg had boasted he could find.

Well, they had found the dragons. Now all Toma had to do was convince that these two were more than enough (which they were) and get them on the road back home.

"Hmmm." The Crazy pondered, laying back and using Larg as a back rest while he stared at the sky. "Are you sure? I don't think two is a very large amount ..." The brown eyes seemed vaguely worried about not having done enough work. He'd only had to beat down one very testosterone-pumped man after all, and it seemed that there should be more challenge in his quest.

Besides, Larg had done most of the work for him. Bringing them to where he thought his kind would be likely to gather, and tearing apart any akuma that tried to slow them down.

"Two is more than enough Sir Lewis." Toma reassured the young man. "Most of the time, even the professional Exorcists only bring back _one_ piece of Innocence at a time. Getting two in one mission is a cause for celebration! We should get back and give the good news as quickly as we can."

The brown eyes lit up like a child's who had just been told that he had done good, and was now going to get a reward. "_Really_?"

Toma nodded, secretly smiling at the Crazy's expression. "Oh yes."

Lewis leaped to his feet, already scrambling up Larg's scaly hide to reach his designated position on the red's back, Toma not far behind. The dragon rolled his eyes, having listened to the entire conversation.

The other reds were grumbling about it. "As you sure we should go? We have plenty of fish here, and lots of goats." Ragg said, picking up his Chosen, the hairy troll, off of the ground where he still lay curled up into a tiny ball. Armm also collected his bald gorilla in his claws, not really trusting his Crazy little muscle man to be able to ride properly.

Larg snorted at the protest. "My kin, if you think goats and fish are the best there is, just wait until I show you the soft meat of a cow and the amazing drink that is beer!"

Toma sighed, and hoped that not all reds took to alcohol like Larg did. Otherwise, we wasn't sure how the Black Order's finances would take the beating of three demanding reds, along with the needed meat income for all of the rest.

"Beer?" The two asked, and the three took off, their immensely strong back limbs propelling them into the air, and the wings did the rest.

Larg then began to explain the greatness of alcohol to the new two, much to Toma's dismay. When the red felt like it, he could talk. A lot.

_Oh well_, The Finder thought to himself as Larg spoke, the other reds followed, and Lewis dozed. _At least we're finally on our way home_.

**//DRDRDR//**

Link quickly shut the door to his room, and locked it as fast as he could. He let his shoulders go slack in relief as he collapsed onto his bed, and made a couple of mental notes to himself: _never, ever, fight Walker for a bit of food again, no matter how hungry you are_. And, _don't ever get on Ms. Fay's bad side again_.

The woman had somehow given the two of them the dressing down of their lives; dragging all three of them (Allen, Howard, and Cain) into the kitchen—both Jerry and Lerrel had been strangely absent. He wondered where they had disappeared to, and if there was some sort of secret exit from the space—where she made the kid a bowl of oatmeal to eat as a substitute Dinner, because he had missed out while delivering a large chunk of Herus' message to the Supervisor before Komui had told the child to go to get something to eat.

Komui had been escorting the child himself when he had come to find Bridget (who had been on her way to Rouvelier's office with a massive folder in hand) and shoved the duty on her before escaping.

Link knew this because half of the lecture aimed at Allen and himself had consisted of how much she disliked the Supervisor for forcing such a useless task upon her when she clearly had her own work to attend to.

Cain had been surprisingly okay with the woman's suppressed rage, and had sat himself down on the floor and started doodling with an ink pen he had probably kept in his pocket since his departure from the church they had found him. The folded bit of paper he started drawing his little stick figures on, however, was obviously a bit of loose paperwork he had flinched from Komui's office.

Luckily for the robed child, Bridget was too busy cooking and cutting Allen and Link to itty-bitty pieces with her sharp tongue and boiling words to notice. Afterward, the two had bolted to get to their rooms before the woman could think of anything more to say.

After successfully and a bit grudgingly—the Exorcist _had _caused him to lose his cake, the only bit of Dinner he had—helping Allen find his way to his room Link fortified himself in his within own domain right next door to the Exorcist's.

The Inspector knew that he was being overly cautious, but he wasn't in the mood to see any living creature again until he had at least given himself a good night's rest. Well, _almost_ any living creature.

When Luke appeared on the desktop, blinking at the blond man quizzically as he finished buttoning up his loose pajamas, Link found that he didn't really mind the extra presence all that much. In fact, when the blue flew over to the bed as Howard slid in under the sheets and made himself comfortable at the foot of the bed, the Inspector found that he didn't mind at all.

He stared for a moment at the dragon curling up at his feet. Somehow, Luke had become a mix between a pet and a reliable informant without Link noticing. The blue returned the man's look once settled, and a wing stretched out.

_Do you need anything?_ Luke asked in the only way he could.

"No," Howard said, turning over and stretching his arm out to turn off the light. "I don't need anything at all."

The room went dark, and Link settled into the soft feather mattress. "Good-night." He felt obliged to say. There was a soft nudge at his foot in acknowledgment and to seemingly return the statement, but no sound.

A strange thought entered Howard's mind before he truly drifted to sleep. A question really: what would the blue's voice sound like if he could talk? It wouldn't have been a squeak like Gremlin, or a rumble like Smudge.

_It probably would've been something worth listening to. Something nice, and soft-spoken._

And then, they were both asleep, and it didn't matter what anyone's voice sounded like. All that mattered was that they were both quiet sleepers, and would not disturb one another in the dark, and that the door was locked, keeping anyone else from disturbing them either.

**//DRDRDR//**

Cain looked from one end of his new room to the other, holding his warm bowl of oatmeal in his hands. The woman had directed him here, and then left him to fend for himself. Cain didn't mind the uncaring actions too much though, her behavior was just like that of the dragon-priests he'd lived with for quite a while now anyway: cold and robotic.

The six year old placed his food on the empty desk the room came with, and began wrestling with his robes. The gray fabric wrapped around his head as he pulled it off, but didn't put up much of a fight, and he found a nice and large button-up shirt in one of the dresser drawers to us as pajamas.

'_Hm. I wonder to whom this room belonged before you arrived, if it belonged to anyone at all._' Lord Herus commented, indicating the fully stocked dresser and recently-made bed.

"Probably nobody. The lady said that I would have the hallway to myself, 'cause nobody else is living here right now."

'_Ah._' There was an image; a rooftop with two gray dragons nibbling away at what was left of a cow. A feeling of fullness settled on Cain's belly, though he hadn't even begun to eat yet. '_You did good in relaying the first part of my message. You should eat them sleep, so you may continue with all haste tomorrow morning._'

"Yes Lord Herus." Cain said, and sat down to begin picking at his bland oatmeal. "Goodnight, Lord Herus."

'_Goodnight, my little priest._'

The child felt the gray 'distance' himself slightly. Just enough, so that they could go on with whatever they were both doing without bothering the other, but close enough so that there was still the feeling of the other being there.

Cain smiled, and yawned. He left the majority of his Dinner to sit where it was, uneaten, and made his way to the bed. To him, the bed (which could easily hold two full-grown adults) was almost massive enough to be scary.

But, he was too tired to really care. He had never been away from home before, or ridden a dragon for that matter, and all of the knew experiences took a toll on his small frame. The kid was under the covers and drifting like a leaf in the wind before he even put his head down upon the pillow. And by then, he was too far gone to care that he had left the light on.

He probably would've left the lamp glowing even if he had been conscious enough to turn it off; he was scared of the dark, and Herus wasn't close enough to make sure the monsters in the shadows didn't get him if he did try to flip the switch.

**//DRDRDR//**

In the darkened kitchen where no one was cooking, a dragon was stirring, poking two purple muzzles out of a cabinet door.

Lerrel slipped out, and trotted out to where the tables were, and where a plate was left up-ended, a glass of milk was left, forgotten in the upheaval, to spoil, and a slice of chocolate cake was left on the ground.

They made their way from the plate (cleaning the crumbs and bits of icing off of the table) to the cup (slurping down the liquid with great relish) and, finally, to what was left of the cake itself. Like a automated cleaning device the two heads gobbled up the wonderful dessert, licked the floor clean, and grabbed the two dishes on their way back to place into the sink to soak.

There were other leavings that they would clean and snack on throughout the night, and the dragon would take care of it all for Jerry before the sun came up again. After all, Lerrel had agreed to the job in exchange for being allowed to remain in the kitchen for as long as they wanted, so long as they made sure every corner was spotless by morning.

It was a good deal, the two minds reflected. Because they got to have their cake ... and eat it too.

**End 35. A Piece of Cake**

AN:

Sorry this is late ... I forgot in all of the Thanksgiving festivities. And this chapter isn't half as amazing as the last one ...

And the next chapter is going to be released ... I don't know when, but I'll post the date on my profile when I do know ...

Wow, that's a lot of not-good news.

See ya'll in the future ...

-knux33


	36. Whats Not Yours

**36. Whats Not Yours**

"Komui," Allen asked as he collected his paperwork to fill out concerning the details of his last mission. "What's in the chest?"

The Supervisor shrugged lethargically, still only just beginning to gulp down his morning cup of caffeine. The chest sat in front of his desk like a snowball the tropics: completely out of place."No idea. It's from the dragon in Russia."

"It looks like it came from the bottom of a lake." The Exorcist commented, bending down to get a closer look at the item that seemed like something someone would find in a sunken ship, complete with dried-up barnacles and rotted-looking underwater plant life. He poked the greener bits to see of they were still squishy and wet or not. It was dry, and felt vaguely sticky.

Allen gazed at the rusted metal holding the old box together, and also examined the dented lock that kept the chest closed. He doubted that even unlocking the crusty relic would reveal what was inside, because of how sealed the metal frame keeping the wooden box together had become.

_Though_, The Exorcist noted, _it looks like someone else had already taken a crowbar to the hinges ..._

He could see where the box had been pried apart, and carefully placed back together without touching the lock. Guessing that those investigating all the items and letters going in or out (Central's goons) were probably responsible, he frowned.

"Hey," The Supervisor protested weakly when he finally noticed how closely Allen was examining the chest. "You shouldn't play around with that; it's not yours."

Allen shrugged, collected his paperwork and left with a wave to Komui and a final curious glance at the obviously already violated and once-waterlogged box. _My thoughts exactly_.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

"Tyki," A windy, whispering voice asked. "Where are we going?" It had to have been the third time Eeze had asked that question, but the Noah wasn't frustrated by the repetition. It was an understandable thing for a child to ask.

"Eeze, I've told you before, and I'll tell you again. It's a secret." The Portuguese smiled at the end of this comment, taking a long and content breath of air from his cigarette. He was particularly happy because he had convinced his friend to shove the Innocence-ridden creature into a very small, and very smelly suitcase for the duration of any and all train rides using the argument that other people would freak out if they saw a dragon.

It was a perfectly logical thing to do. Well, the fact that the small case had no air holes wasn't very logical, but Eeze didn't have to know about that part until they reached the next station, now did he?

Oh yes, the Noah was feeling _quite_ satisfied with himself indeed. And he would be more than happy to get rid of the corpse of the lizard for his little friend, no problem! All he had to do was find a nice secluded spot where he could crush the little annoyance into dust in the wind, and all of his problems would be as good as solved.

The orphan sighed and rubbed at his sunken eyes, looking out the train compartment's window. The small child seemed half-dead, yet he was never at a loss for energy. It was a strange contradiction. Tyki knew that Eeze had trouble sleeping a majority of the time because of his troubled lungs, but caught snatches of rest throughout the day to compensate.

"Can't you tell me now?" It wasn't a whine, like Rhode's usual demanding voice, just a tired question.

The Noah laughed, a bit halfheartedly, and ruffled the child's golden hair. "Now that would go and ruin the surprise, wouldn't it Eeze?"

The little boy sighed, and continued his aimless gazing out at the dull trees passing by. There was a grief in his eyes, and Tyki knew where it came from. The unexpected loss of two friends was eating at him too, but he tried not to let the emotion show. He still had living people to worry about; namely, the kid in front of him, and the other 'child' back at home doing god-knows-what with a white monstrosity.

The Noah simply sighed, and breathed in another lungful of smoke. Kids were such a hassle.

"Is it nice? The place we're going to?"

"It's okay." Tyki was still trying to figure out how he was going to ask Sheryl for the extra room, and tell the family that he didn't want his small, asthmatic friend to end up in several neatly cut pieces strewn about the yard for the dog to play with. "Just ... try to be as inconspicuous as possible when we get there."

Eeze nodded. It was a simple enough request, and he had heard it said many times.

"_Stay out of sight, Eeze_."

"_Make sure nobody sees you, Eeze_."

"_It won't turn out well if they get their mitts on you, Eeze_."

The dusty, distant voices of the past intoned with poorly hidden worry for his well-being. But a fresher memory slid across his thoughts as well, with a small scaly creature grinning up at him as it spoke.

"_The humans of this world aren't so different from my kin, Chosen of Mine. They love what they choose to love; hate what they choose to hate. For all the light and bright joy one man shows you, he is hiding an equal amount of darkness and tragedy for someone else. It is a fair exchange—a payment, if you will—and I understand it as any competent deal maker should_." The strange, white eyes had glowed brighter. "_Do not be fooled by the mask any man shows you. Because with his love he can hate just as well_."

The child snuck a look at the man smoking in the seat across from him, confused. Tyki cared for him. But, according to Nathan—who Eeze knew to be very smart on many aspects after living with the dragon for a few weeks and relying on the creature for food and housing—Tyki must also have an uncaring side too.

A moment after the thought, Eeze realized he had already seen a bit of it. Tyki (along with two other names Eeze didn't want to think about; it still hurt too much) played crooked games of poker to get money regardless of the opponent's current financial standing. He played for money, and he played to win; end of discussion.

And the man would leave for months at a time to go to his 'secret' job whenever the employer had called, regardless of anything else that was happening at the time. Again, the reason was for the much-needed inflow of cash that the job provided.

But ... Eeze had never seen Tyki _hate_ anything. The child wondered if the man really did have a side he never saw; a personality that was hidden from him. He shook his head to himself, and decided that Nathan was wrong about people.

Especially about Tyki.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Link was surprised. The blue had never requested help from him before, and the dragon seemed fully capable of looking for whatever he needed himself. So, the Inspector decided to ask the dragon sitting on his desk: "What exactly do you need flowers for?"

Luke 'erased' the writing, and then added: _Someone I knew died_. _I would like to do a proper service_.

Howard raised a pencil-thin eyebrow. "I was under the impression that you didn't know very many people."

_I don't_. The blue explained. _I know You_. _Allen Walker_. _Section Leader Reever_. _Gremlin_. _And the scientist Quan Hertright_. _The scientist died_. _I would like to do something to mark his passing, so that his spirit knows that his departure is not totally unremarked upon_.

The man sat up straighter, mildly surprised. "So you want to get him flowers?"

_And a few other things_, the dragon wrote, _but I know where to get them_. _I just don't know where to find the flowers_.

Link wasn't sure on where to find the plants either. They weren't an essential item, and he had never found a need for specific growths of that type before. The Inspector pondered for a moment, trying to remember if any other person he knew had ever mentioned plants of that nature before.

And then he got an idea. "Arystar Krory was filed to have had a variety of plant life before joining the Order." He told the blue. "So, it's only logical that you ask him for advice on finding some plants for your own use."

Luke smiled, and did a small hop to show his joy. _I will see if I can find Lerrel in the kitchen_. _He will know where Mr. Krory is_. But, the blue did not immediately zoom away, and instead asked one more thing.

_Link_, he wrote. _What is the normal human custom for respecting someone's death_? _I know that flowers and black clothing are usually involved, but everything else_ ...  
A shrug. _It varies too much_. _You humans have more customs than dragons have colors_.

The Inspector felt a twinge of curiosity. "And how many colors _are _there, exactly?"

_Depends on who you ask_. The blue said, and pondered. _I believe there are only fourteen colors: brown, black, gray, white, red, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, gold, copper, silver, and bronze_. _Those are all the colors I've seen or heard of being seen_.

Erase. More writing. _A few whites and blacks believe their color to be the base of all other colors, reducing all other colors to a intermediary shade between white and black_. _Browns like to believe that all colors are just another shade of brown, and that they are the source of all the other colors_. The small dragon barked what sounded like a short laugh at the idea. _But most like to believe that there are fourteen colors_. _Though, small groups here and there also like to think that there is one other color_. _An All-Color, from which we all came from_.

Link gave a small '_hmm_' at all of the information. It was a strange thought; that dragons already had set ideas and beliefs all their own. Luke thought for a moment. _There are more beliefs than that_. _I doubt that I could name them all and get flowers for Quan too though_.

"I'd suggest that you get going then." Howard said. "I have a mission report to fill out anyway. I won't be going anywhere."

Luke smiled and jumped off of the desk. The little dragon opened it's wings in flight and then disappeared, the door opening itself magically after that, and then closing.

Link sighed to himself, and opened his desk drawer to acquire a pencil to start in his work with and paused. The drawer was filled with novels.

The German grabbed all of them and lifted the books out and onto his desk, noticing that there were many bookmarks sticking out of every single novel, and flipping one of the books open at random, he saw that there were notes scribbled in the margins.

_-Have men actually done things such as these to one another? Is a 'Guillotine' a real object? The dictionary said it was. But for such a thing to happen. I do not understand. A.L.L._

The Inspector flipped to front of the novel, and pondered over the title. A Tale of Two Cities. Not something he'd expect a dragon to pick out. All of the other books were also fictional stories. Maybe that was why these were the books that Luke was having trouble with; Link hadn't explained the difference between Fiction and Non-Fiction yet. Though, it seemed that the dragon already had an inkling that the stories were not totally true, based on the notes.

Looking at the pile of novels, Link wondered when the blue was planning to ask his questions, and when the dragon was going to return all of the 'borrowed' books back to the library. And he wondered vaguely what 'A.L.L.' could stand for, but brushed the thoughts aside along with the novels onto the floor.

He had paper work to start on.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Tyki stared at his bag in disbelief. Several coin-sized holes had been made in the case's leather shell, and a white iris glared at him through one of the claw carved openings. 'You'll have to try a lot harder than that to get rid of me.' The look said, and the Noah briefly wondered if he could get away with tossing the luggage (dragon and all) into the nearest lake.

"Tyki?" The child's head poked into the compartment, clearly wondering what was taking the man so long.

_Damn_. The opportunity to get rid of the pest 'discreetly' had already passed.

For now.

"Just admiring the mess your small new friend has made of my bag." The Noah answered, lifting up the case for Eeze to clearly see the damage done.

"Oh." The boy fingered one of the air holes, careful not to widen the puncture. "_Bad_ Nathan." The child said in a whisper, obviously trying to not draw any unwanted attention to the bag. "Sorry Tyki."

"It's not your fault." Tyki reassured the child and collected the rest of their luggage. "Lets just get going."

They left the train and the station quickly enough, but kept the pace slow. Eeze's legs were short, and his health was less than adequate for any real strain to be put on him. Mikk tried to keep his stride small, and held all of their luggage on his own.

Silently, he attempted to plan out how he was going to properly 'introduce' his companion to the family. So far, the scenarios he'd predicted hadn't been good. The only Noah Tyki knew that was allowed to keep an actual human around regularly was Sheryl, and he had a legitimate excuse to do so. Having a wife at his age was a social standard for men of his standing, and it helped him blend politically.

Acquiring a child (an asthmatic one at that) with no background would be more of a scandal than anything else.

_And_ ... _oh, hell_. Another thought crossed his mind like an unlucky black cat.

Either he found a way to get rid of the dragon before they walked the last two miles to the Camelot Estate, or the beast would surly be found out when they arrived. As much as the Noah wanted to destroy the creature himself, he was sincere about making sure the child at his side didn't have to watch.

"Eeze," Tyki announced, realizing he need more time than he had. "How about we stay at an inn one more night, before we arrive? I need to make some extra arrangements."

The child looked up curiously, but did not comment. He didn't mind staying anywhere, as long as Tyki was with him.

Inside the bag, Nathan snorted to himself. 'Extra arrangements?' The dragon guessed it was more likely a stop to try to get rid of _him._

They arrived at an adequate inn quickly enough, and unpacked. The brown virtually exploded out of the suitcase the moment it was opened, flying over to roost on the bedside table and mumbled crossly to himself, obviously disliking the ride he had just gone through in the suitcase.

The Noah threw a disgruntled look at the lizard but didn't comment; instead he went searching for a phone. He had a call to make.

Alone with Nathan, Eeze sat experimentally on the bed, smiling behind his facemask when he found the piece of furniture to be soft and the sheets unstained. The dragon snorted at the child's delight. "I could find you a place where you would sleep in feather-stuffed beds as long as you wanted."

"I want to stay with Tyki." Eeze answered as if this as a conversation they had often had before.

"I could find you a life of luxury."

"I'm happy with Tyki."

"You'd be just as happy with full meals and _me_ to take care of you." The dragon '_huff_'ed from his spot, "If you'd just give me a chance."

The golden-haired child looked at the sulking brown, eyes sunken and old. "You have to give Tyki a chance first."

Nathan glared at the window, pondering the statement in a broody silence, and flew over to the sill to stare outside. After a while, he spoke. "That man smells like old death. I do not trust him. We should leave, so I may find you a proper place to dwell." The dragon abruptly turned and flew to Eeze's lap, rubbing his muzzle affectionately against the boy's neck. "I will do want you want, but only as long as it is in your best interest. If you ignore the threat this man you call family poses, I will be forced to take drastic measures to assure your safety."

Eeze laughed as the brown's warm breath tickled his skin. "Tyki protects me, Nathan. Just like you."

The dragon gave out his short bark of a laugh. "Not like me, Chosen. _Not_ like me."

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Tyki leaned in a slouch against the wall as the payphone rang, waiting for someone in the Camelot house to answer. After only a couple of rings, one of the akuma servants answered in a disgustingly cheery tone.

He would've ordered the servant to seek out Sheryl, but there was a commotion on the other end of the line.

"_Tyki_!" Rhode crowed, and the named Noah flinched at the high-pitched female voice. "I thought you were taking a vacation?"

The man sighed. "Well, yes, but something came up—,"

"A couple of dead somethings, I would guess." The Noah of Dreams cut in. The words sent a chill down Tyki's spine. Before he could demand for her to reveal how she knew that, Rhode continued: "Meet me at the house."

The line went dead, and Tyki was left staring angrily at the phone, grip so tight that his knuckles turned white and his hand ached.

It just was one of those days.

**//DRDRDR//**

Luke poked his head into the kitchen, slightly cowed by the noise of moving pans, the combating smells of different foods, and blasts of hot air from the ovens. Invisibly, he shuddered. There were so many _people_!

He would have to cling to the wall like a gecko to avoid being discovered, and it was a long crawl from the entrance to where the twin-headed purple was snacking on sugary sweets. With a deep breath, Luke carefully dung his claws into the wall and started on his trek.

The blue was sure that at least two of the cooks did a double take when small cracks appeared in the wall where they should not, and steam from a pot of boiling water almost gave him away: the evaporating water condensing and liquefying on his scales faster than he could scramble away, giving the dragon an outline of water droplets for a few precious moments before he shook them off.

Eventually he reached his destination, confusion and bewildered cooks left in his not-so-invisible wake. The purple paused, licking its chops clean of icing and crumbs.

"_You're late_." Both heads said in hushed tones, glaring where the blue was: still invisible.

_Sorry_, Luke wrote, careful to make sure that the writing was at an angle that only Lerrel could see. _But I did not know I was expected_.

Rel chuckled, and said: "Ask your question. We have things to eat and tomorrow to ponder."

The blue took a calming breath: purples could be confusing to deal with. _Do you know where your Chosen is_? _I would like to ask him a few things, and I am not sure where the best place would be to find him at this time_.

The purple, both halves if it, laughed.

"Look up, little blue, look up!"

"You found him skywards!" (Trans: "You'll find him skywards!")

_?_, Luke couldn't help but project.

The other just laughed all the harder, and ate his—their—cake. It was so fun to confuse people; or dragons, in this situation.

The blue shook his invisible head at them, and left. The only way he could go now was up, and who knows what he would find there ...

**//DRDRDR//**

'_Illogical_.' Herus snorted.

'_Heartless_.' Speck retorted.

'_Stupid_.' The colder gray asserted.

'_Selfish_.' The other returned.

'_You are blinded by emotion, biased, and can not make the right decision on this matter on your own, let alone explain to someone else what you're doing_!' The gray who was curled up with his eyes closed almost yelled inside their heads.

'_Well, you are obviously failing to grasp the concepts I have tried time and time again to explain to you about my Chosen's dire situation_.' Speck, who was watching Arystar Krory as the Exorcist watched the skies for any signs of returning dragons, replied in the silent way that only grays can. '_Yes, the truth will be shocking, but I'd rather it come in a controlled setting than an uncontrolled one_. _And, I will tell him far away from other people, so that he can get over the fact by himself, without an unwanted audience_.'

The conversation was quick, and heated. Thought by thought the words played out, unbeknown to Krory, who sighed to himself as he waited on the roof. Lerrel had told him that a messenger would arrive to ask him something important—apparently on the roof—but he had yet to see anyone besides the two gray dragons that were lazing about on their own, and they didn't have anything to say to him besides the usual: "Hello!"

Well, Speck said hello. The other hadn't said anything at all.

'_What makes you think your Chosen will take kindly to knowing that there is a Noah waiting to take over his body lounging about within his mind_?' The silent one questioned. _'And what makes you think he will take kindly to _you_ shuffling about inside his head as well, little Speck_?'

'_Well, as you pointed out, I_ am _inside his head_.' Allen's gray tried to explain calmly and reasonably. '_So I know how Allen will react to certain things_.'

Aloud, Herus laughed, surprising Krory. The Exorcist had no way to know (_no one_ had a way to know) that a silent conversation was going on. Silently, Herus added: '_Humans are not as predictable as they seem to be_. _Sometimes, even my own Chosen does things I do not expect, or understand_.'

'_Oh_?'

'_He is more comfortable when he's around people who are cold with him, and gets confused when people try to be nice_. _And, sometimes his attitude reverses, then switches back for little to no reason at all_.'

'_He is a child, no matter how much information of your own you share with him_.' Speck answered with authority. '_So, Cain is likely to change very much as he grows depending on where he goes and who he meets_.'

The gray Lord huffed, and finally elected to look Speck in the eye, regardless of the curious and confused bystander. '_And what would you know about human growth_?'

'Inside _Allen's head_.' Speck reminded with a roll of his black-and-white eyes. '_I've got several years of documented growth to shuffle through_.'

'_Your Chosen is not that much older than my Chosen_.'

'_Again_._ I remind you that Allen is currently sharing mental space, and I have generations of Noah memories to go through as well_.'

Krory watched the gray faces move and react to something, but nothing he could see.

_It's almost like they're talking_, he thought to himself. _But, the creatures obviously aren't saying anything at all ... are they?_

A small cough downward caught his attention, and Arystar looked to his feet. There, a small blue dragon sat on its haunches, looking up at him.

"Hello?" Krory asked it, catching the attention of the two 'speaking' grays as well.

"Blue!" Speck exclaimed, struggle to work the works that came so easily in thought out of his mouth. "How long you there?"

Luke looked from the gray to Krory, and fidgeted a bit nervously as it unfolded a wing. Amazingly enough (to Krory, anyway) the little dragon spread out a wing, and writing appeared.

_Excuse me_, it wrote, _but do you know where to find flowers_?

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Lavi shivered, and wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck. The Junior Bookman was currently hiding within a tangle of snow-covered bushes, trying not to let his extremities freeze off.

_Damned Greenland: whoever named this place was either an idiot or colorblind. And damn all of these akuma. I can't walk anywhere in plain sight; according to Ammy, the creatures are everywhere. _

Apparently, the continent hadn't changed much since the last time Lavi had been there. The place had become just like Japan (right underneath the rest of the word's nose too), a nesting ground for the Earl's standing army.

Or a just part of his standing army. Or a fraction. It wasn't like he could stop and do a head count.

Lavi sighed, watching the steam swirl away from his mouth like smoke. The Exorcist held his beloved weapon in his right hand: ready just in case the passing travelers spotted him and turned out to be less-than-human.

That was the reason he was currently hiding in the bushes; he couldn't be sure whether or not the passing people were actually people. The last time he had been here, he had seen far too many high level akuma to take any chances.

His dragon/irritable companion was currently holed up far from any human outpost (and him) because it was far harder to hide a giant orange dragon than it was to hide a single Exorcist. And as much as the fact irked Amaterasu (Ammy, for short), she had enough sense to agree.

Though, the dragon had warned him just that morning that if he got himself into any trouble that was bad enough to make him unable to carry out his 'Servant duties,' she would personally roast him. Lavi rolled his eyes at the memory: it wasn't like he didn't know how to take care of himself.

The travelers/possible akuma were out of sight, and had been for a few minutes. The rabbit crept from his hiding spot slowly, senses on high alert and still not at ease. He had covered his Exorcist uniform with civilian clothing to help himself blend, but the Bookman knew better than to rely too much on the camouflage.

Pocketing his Innocence, he stuffed his hands into the folds of his jacket, and tried to think about warm things. The Exorcist clothing beneath everything else was more that sufficient enough to keep his body warm, but his face and fingers were _not_ happy with the current climate.

Lavi couldn't help but feel jealous; his orange dragon had shown no signs of discomfort at the cold and was even cooped up in a warm hiding spot right now. They didn't want to risk Ammy being seen until they were sure that they had found what they were looking for.

The Exorcist froze at a sound from further ahead, then scrambled to hide behind one of the scrawny, pathetic bushes yet again. Lavi believed that he would have to rethink his strategy soon: the further away from the coast he got, the more mountains, ice, snow, and rocks there were, and progressively less vegetation.

Reaching a gloved hand into his pocket, his gripped his hammer reassuringly. It felt very good to have his weapon back where it belonged after so long of going without, and the redhead was going to be far more careful about how he used it in the future. He really didn't want it breaking again.

The new traveler walking down the road looked terrified, her eyes wide and glancing everywhere. If Lavi was one to guess, he would say that the local akuma weren't doing much to hide their presence from the humans.

And then the level two came barreling around the corner that traveler had come from: laughing madly. The human screamed, started to run, and was cut down before she could move more than three strides.

Half went one way, and the other half went the other: amazingly still screaming, chest cavity undamaged.

Lavi felt his muscles tighten with the need to run, to fight, but he forced himself to stay still. It was too late for the woman, and he didn't want to give away the fact he was there by destroying an akuma if he didn't have to.

The screaming turned to choked sobs, and even those stopped as the body turned back and crumbled into dust, leaving the only evidence of the murder to be the woman's clothing.  
The akuma, a twisted creature that looked like a strange mechanical mix between a horse's body and a crocodile's face, congratulated itself for getting the 'suspect' and trotted on back the way it had come.

Disturbed, but curious as well, Lavi slowly thought about what he had seen. He decided that it could be worth the trouble to avoid the roads all together now, and just take the round-about way to the next town.

And maybe poke around a bit, to see what the whole mess with the woman 'suspect' had been about ...

**//DRDRDR//  
**

The city was in a state of blind terror. At least, that was the way Lavi saw it from his vantage point. The rabbit was currently creeping around the small alleyways between buildings, and sticking close to the shaded areas that offered some protection from sight.

The buildings were closed up tight, and all the windows he saw had their curtains drawn. A few of the homes had their doors broken down, and akuma walked the streets free of their human skins as they prowled about, gleeful of the fear that was almost a reeking scent drifting in the air.

Mostly, they were level threes. But a handful of level twos scurried about, docile and careful around the more powerful creatures. Lavi even saw the akuma he had seen before breaking into one of the boarded homes, and watched as it cursed and kicked with hooved feet to get the people outside of the building: herding them somewhere. Other akuma were doing the same.

The question on the Exorcist's mind, was why the akuma weren't slaughtering people outright, and where the demons were taking them. So, creeping and hiding, he made his way in the direction the akuma were going in. It was a risk, but finding out why the akuma were showing such abnormal behavior was worth some peril.

After numerous close calls, and several moments where Lavi was sure he was going to either get caught or at least spotted, the Exorcist was led to the north side of the town, where inside a great crowd of akuma and covered in chains, a dragon was caught.

The Bookman was stuck keeping close to the cover of the town buildings, so he couldn't get a clear look, but when he first saw the scaly beast writhing on pain he had frozen: for a moment scared with the possibility of it being _his_ dragon.

After a few moments of frantic deep breaths and creeping as close as he dared, he let out a relived sigh. The coloring—mostly hidden in red from old and newly shed blood—wasn't orange, and the beast had the horned head of a male.

It was yellow. Half of one horn was missing, leaving a jagged stump where the yellow bone should have curved up proudly. The chains were made of metal that was probably tainted with Dark Matter, because it held the dragon down easily and seemed to be rubbing the scales raw where they touched. The wings looked to be in horribly ragged shape; they weren't even properly folded and looked like they were broken in several places.

The dragon snarled, revealing a mouth missing several of it's dagger-teeth, including one of the upper canines, and Lavi spotted the level four just as it kicked the Innocence-creature on the mouth, efficiently shutting it up. The yellow coughed up another tooth, and glared murderously at the akuma, claws digging into the ice-hardened ground.

No, it wasn't _his_ dragon, but it was what the Exorcist had been looking for.

The lower leveled creatures lined up several of the towns folk in front of it, and appeared to wait.

The mockingly-angelic level four giggled, and Lavi felt automatically nauseous at the sound. His hammer seemed to warm reassuringly in his hand, but he didn't pay much attention to it: the dragon had begun to speak.

It was a slightly garbled Danish dialect, but Lavi understood it.

"Bring out all of the humans you want: you will not find mine.**(1)**" The yellow spat out, along with some blood that stained the reddened snow around it's body further.

All the akuma laughed, and the level four smacked the dragon's head again with a _crack_.

"Shoot." The strongest demon ordered the others, and the humans that had been lined up turned to dust.

That was all the information Lavi needed: apparently the akuma were looking for the dragon's 'Exorcist' counterpart.

Why the akuma didn't just torch the entire town was beyond him—until the Exorcist realized that it was in the akuma's best interest to leave a few survivors. A few grieving widows, orphans ... a few tragedies.

Lavi heard snow-crunching footsteps coming his way, and pressed himself against the wall of the alleyway and into a small niche, hoping that whatever was coming wouldn't see him. Unfortunately for the rabbit, the noise got louder as the humanoid got closer, walking right by the corner of Lavi's alleyway.

But, the newcomer looker human enough and scared as a mouse in a room full of cats. While that look of nervous fear was enough to argue of humanity, Lavi knew better. The Bookman kept as still as possible, and waited for the maybe-human to get close enough to where he was hiding for him to properly look at it.

The Bookman couldn't tell what gender the person was, or even give an estimate to the person's age; the bulging winter-clothing covered the shape of their body, and a back scarf was coving most of the stranger's lower face.

But, it didn't look like the newcomer was going to be of any trouble to him. The person was staring, more horrified now than terrified, staring at the dragon bound and chained to the ground, and being abused by the akuma.

It took a split second for Lavi to realize just who the person was. The person the akuma were looking for. In that split second he started to reach out; trying to grab the person and pull them out of sight and into safety, to get them out of there.

It was a second too long.

He missed the stranger's jacket, fingers brushing against the fabric as the Exorcist vainly tried to get a grip on the clothing, and the person slipped away. Straight towards the dragon.  
Straight towards the akuma.

Lavi couldn't bear to watch. He kept his back against the wall, his Innocence still clutched in one hand, and tried to ignore the sounds that came next.

He could picture it all in his mind's eye: the look of curiosity on the akuma's faces as the human came running up, the yellow's dawning realization and horror.

"_No_!" Lavi heard the cry bellowed, and couldn't help but flinch.

There was a laugh, and then a wet _crack_ echoed across the ice and snow. The Exorcist had lived through enough battles to know the sound of a breaking neck when he heard it, but the next sound he had never heard before. A sound so curious, the Bookman in training couldn't help but cautiously peak around the corner of his alleyway to look.

Afterwards, Lavi would look back on this moment in time and wonder why he had bothered. In the coming war, he would see it enough times to make the sight a familiar one.

The sound he heard was the dragon's body starting to decompose at a rapid pace. He could already see bone poking through the ash-like flesh as it slid off easily to the ground, peppering the ice gray, and the eyes were nothing more than shining black tear-trails down the gaunt cheekbones. Then the bone, too, turned into ashes, and nothing was left besides a pile of the powder.

A few yards away, the corpse of the dragon's Chosen remained: an unmoving pile of cooling flesh in the snow, head twisted in an impossible angle.

Like a crowd leaving a theater, the akuma dispersed. They were no longer needed here and there were other places they had to be, apparently. One level three stepped towards the dragon's 'grave,' and dug around in the remains.

It soon found what it was looking for. A glowing green cube.

Lavi was shocked to see it; did the dragon's revert back to that form automatically once their 'Chosen' was dead? Did this information hint at an important detail about the species? Did the akuma know how the dragon would die as they looked for it's Chosen human?

And where had the level four gone?

The akuma was starting the fly away, Innocence in hand, though it looked like it pained the level three akuma to hold it that way. There were no other akuma in sight.

Lavi was torn; he didn't know if he could take on a level three by himself. The last time he had faced one, he had definitely come out of the battle worse off than his enemy, though Lenalee had taken care of it herself.

And almost died.

Grating his teeth, Lavi watched as the akuma flew away. And then his Innocence did something it had never done before: it burned him. With a barely constrained yelp, the Exorcist reflexively let go of the hammer and watched as it hit the snow by his feet. The frozen substance began to melt almost instantly, and warm steam rose into the air.

Confused, hand still throbbing, Lavi inspected his weapon. The black metal of the hammer was sending off visible waves of heat into the air, and steam kept rising. He looked from the Innocence to the akuma still growing steadily farther away and got the message quickly.

"Want to go after it?" Lavi whispered, still unconsciously trying to keep a low profile.

The reaction made the answer clear; the air cooled back down to normal freezing temperatures quickly enough and the Exorcist picked up his weapon. The hammer was warm, but not uncomfortably so. It was actually kind of nice, compared to Greenland's early winter weather.

Lavi sighed aloud at his weapon, not finding the fact that he was talking to an inanimate object weird at all. "Now if we get in over our heads, I'm blaming it on _you_, got it?"

The Exorcist felt pins and needles briefly go through his hand, as if he'd sat on it for too long, and took it as an affirmative answer.

"You know, I hope you know what you're getting us into." It wasn't really that much of a stretch to believe that his Innocence could talk to him; Ammy could talk to him, and she was technically Innocence too.

Gripping the handle, Lavi was about to shout out his usual '_extend!_' when the hammer stretched out before he could even give the command. Surprised, but somehow gladdened by the response at the same time, the Exorcist concentrated on creating a good and hot _Hi-Ban_**(2)**.

_Has my synchronization rate had gone up? _The Exorcist wondered, mind working even when his first fiery serpent was launched. The akuma was obviously damaged by the attack (unlike the last level three), adding confirmation to his stray pondering.

Realizing that he was grinning, Lavi grabbed the innocence right out of the akuma's claws as he shot by on his hammer, looking back cheekily at it before landing and giving it a good whack with his Innocence.

The akuma exploded, no longer a problem, and the Bookman felt his heart soar at the ease he had destroyed the creature.

_Wait_. Lavi put a damper on the emotions that had started to mess with his mind quickly landed, looking for cover to hide in. _How could I have been so stupid, announcing my presence to anyone bothering to look up_?

He quickly made his way along a rocky incline away from the town, trying to start back to the small camp he and Ammy had with a Finder. Lavi rolled his eyes, the heart of the yellow in one hand and his hammer in the other. "You see what you get me into?"

The Innocence was silent as it always was and had returned to normal temperature, denying the Exorcist any feedback. The cube glowed softly in Lavi's other hand, warm but alien. He wondered if the dragons inside felt anything at all as they were carried around, fused into objects and used for human purposes.

And then Lavi realized that his attack _had_ been seen, and he didn't have to luxury to ponder such thoughts. There was the level four, waiting for him just a little further ahead as if it had known exactly what he was going to do before he did it.

The Exorcist pocketed the Innocence and turned on the transmitter in his earing, hoping to get Ammy on her way so he could have some hope of coming out of the confrontation alive.

"I'm going need some help here—!" Was all he got out before the high level akuma moved faster that his eye could see, cutting off his ear lobe and the earing attached.

**END 36. Whats Not Yours**

AN:

(1): all underlined dialogues will be languages that are NOT ENGLISH. I will specify which languages in the surrounding descriptions. Hopefully, this will help with clarification.  
(2) I'm a little embarrassed to say ... I don't know the exact English translation of Lavi's attack ... sure, my manga (vol 5) tells me that it's 'Hell-fire' and 'Pillar of Fire,' but I think I'll just try sticking with _Hi-Ban_. Because everyone knows what I'm talking about when I say _Hi-Ban_, and a few might just get lost when I start talking about Hellfire or Pillar-of-Flames. I'll take feedback on the subject though ...

Hmm, cliffhangerlishious. Now, poor Lavi is no longer in one piece (though most of his ear is still intact), and help may or may-not be coming. Hm.

Beta: _Nooo! Run Lavi, run!_

Update will come as soon as I finish the next chapter. Review please (though I see a nice amount of you are doing that already, and I thank you all wholeheartedly for it)!


	37. Fire, Fire

**37. Fire, Fire**

Tyki glared at his kin, eyes flashing gold and back again. Rhode ignored her 'uncle' as she swung her feet, perched on one of the garden's many benches. They were far enough from the house that no one would see them together (Tyki still looked like a beggar fresh off the street, after all) but still within the Estate's walls, so no one outside could see them either.

The little girl spoke. "It was only natural that they die, you know," she stated as a matter of fact, "the Earl didn't like that you spent so much time away from home among ... them."

"So you're telling me the Earl did this." The man barely held back his outrage, and felt his skin tingle as it began to change into gray. That only fueled his anger; Tyki hated the fact that he had so little control over his 'Black' half now, that he felt like he could snap at any moment.

Rhode shrugged, smoothing out her skirt. "I'm surprised that you didn't see it coming, actually. The three didn't have any place in our plan after all, and we're getting so close to the real war—,"

"Wait," the fires Tyki felt shrank a little, "how many do you think died?"

The girl pouted up at him, grumpy at being interrupted. "_Three_. You had three toys, didn't you?"

Ignoring the word choice, Pleasure couldn't help but smile. "Only two are dead." After the horrible shock she had just put him through, he though Rhode deserved to have the fact rubbed into her smug little face.

The Noah of Dreams raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? But the Earl sent out an akuma. Only a level one, but its not like people stand a chance against even _that_."

Tyki crossed his arms and kept his comments to himself. An akuma ... was that the reason a relatively safe mine collapsed, and why Eeze moved from the 'home' he had left him to take up residence somewhere else?

"Unless, of course ..." understanding flickered, and Rhode leaped to hug Tyki's waist, "... one of your toys got a dragon?" The man wasn't entirely comfortable with how fast or easily the girl had figured out the puzzle. "One _did_!" The Noah concluded by the look on his face. "What color is it uncle Tyki? Is it white like Isaac? Or black? Tell me, tell me!"

"I thought we were supposed to _get rid_ of the beasts." The man pointed out, reminding the girl of the Earl's standing order, wishing he had a cigarette to light.

Rhode laughed. "Only if they don't listen to us. But if the one your toy has listens, like Isaac, we can keep it too!"

Tyki raised an eyebrow, causing it to disappear behind his curling black bangs. "And why would the little pest want to do that?"

"Because Isaac wanted to," the girl rationalized, "and if he wanted to, others might want to too."

"I highly doubt the dragon wants to do anything I want him to." The man said, thinking about just how much the little brown disliked him and how much he hated the beast in kind.

"Oh?" Rhode's golden eyes sparkled. "And what about your toy? Would the dragon do what your toy wants?"

Tyki thought about it. "Yes. No. Possibly." He hedged, before saying in frustration: "_I don't know_ Rhode, why don't you ask the pest yourself?"

"Okay, I will." The girl marched off, dressed in her finest and eyes toning back down to her 'human' violet shade.

"Wait!" Tyki said, following and realizing his mistake. He didn't care if the other Noah wanted to get a look at the creature but he didn't want her freaking Eeze out.

She didn't listen to him and skipped on ahead, somehow moving faster than he without any effort on her part. Apparently, he wasn't allowed to have a say in the matter. The two miles from the Estate to the inn went by much faster than they had on the way there, and Tyki had to resort to running partially on air to keep up with his 'niece.'

_How_ the girl already knew which inn he had left Eeze, and which _room_ they were staying in, was beyond the poor man entirely—

And then Rhode was opening the door, the boy was blinking confusedly at the unexpected visitor, and the dragon was nowhere to be seen.

"Hello!" The girl chirped, strolling over to sit herself down next to Eeze on the bed.

"... Hello?" The boy asked, looking at her in unmasked confusion.

Rhode eyed the urchin up and down, a small pout on her face. Abruptly, she demanded: "Whats your dragon's name?"

Eeze flinched and looked pleadingly at Tyki, lost and confused. The man, huffing as he leaned against the door frame of their room, nodded for him to answer.

"Nathan. Who are you?"

"And whats it's color?" Rhode pressed on, ignoring the boy's question. Tyki felt very strange seeing the two of them in the same room together; the girl dressed in her noble dress that had probably only been worn once and the boy in dirty rags that looked like they should have been thrown away years ago.

"Brown." Eeze moved away from the girl, wiggling where he sat on the bed. Tyki didn't like how the fellow Noah's eyes sparkled at the boy's answer and walked into the room, ready to intervene if he needed to.

"Oh," she didn't even attempt to hide her glee, "_really_?"

"Rhode—," Tyki started warningly.

Needless to say, she ignored him in favor of answering Eeze's first question. "I'm Tyki's niece, Rhode Camelot. Who are you?"

"Eeze. Just Eeze." The boy seemed confused, and was looking curiously from Rhode's obvious signs of wealth to Tyki, who was wearing clothing just as raggedy as his own at the moment. "I didn't know Tyki had family."

The Noah girl laughed, and Tyki found the sound strangely grating.

"Well, of course not! Uncle Tyki is like a secret agent. Didn't you tell him Tyki?" Rhode's eyes flickered to the man, full of mirth at the situation she was in. Eeze was looking at him now too, questioningly.

"Well ... you can look at it that way—," The man tried to explain, but was cut off by the other Noah yet again.

"How about you have dinner at my house?" Rhode asked.

Tyki felt his jaw drop at the question.

"I'll tell my father that you're a classmate of mine; he's been begging me to bring one home for a while now, but I'd rather bring you instead." The Noah smiled at the amazed expressions on both of the males. "I'd be _fun_."

**//DRDRDR//**

Lavi felt like his heart was going to explode. Gripping the wounded ear and holding onto his hammer while yelling at it to extend as far and fast as it could, the frantic organ was pumping blood in double time. With each pulse a small dribble of red squeezed it's way past his fingers, though he knew the small wound would probably stop bleeding soon do to the cold and to the pressure he was putting on it.

The Exorcist was lucky that only the lobe of his ear had been cut off and not something more substantial, like his head. Hell, he was lucky he was still alive to even be panicking about dying right now and he knew it.

Lavi had never seen his hammer move him so fast or so close to the ground; he was lucky that there were few obstacles to run into. He'd never seen an akuma move so fast before, either.

The level four was lazily (_lazily_! _The bastard_!) gliding next to him and grinned as it watched the Exorcist's expression darken. It then it hit him, smashing his right arm with an unmeasurable force, causing him to fly in a different direction all together. The hammer retracted to normal size as his concentration balked, and Lavi couldn't tell if his right hand still gripped his weapon or not.

The Bookman couldn't tell whether he was goingup or _down_, if his right arm was whole or _broken_, or even if he was still _bleeding_ or not. Like a rock, he fell.  
And then she caught him.

Breathing fire and eyes glowing, her claws wrapped protectedly around him like unbendable bars, and she hisses her unbridled furry at the akuma as her wings beat in time with the pain pulsing through his entire right side.

_Right on time_, Lavi would've said, but was too busy trying to catch his breath.

With his one uncovered eye half open, he watched the fire head straight towards the akuma. It dodged. The fire still got the tip of one of it's wings, but the creature was largely undamaged.

The teen felt his heart sink at the sight of how little damage had been done.

Ammy growled, lips pulled back to reveal glistening fangs and pink gums. The dragon wasn't as scared as she was angry. But, then again, she had never faced such an akuma before, had she?

"We ..." Lavi wheezed, then ground his teeth together at the pain his ribcage felt at the single word. His sentence of: 'We need to get out of here.' went unuttered.

Looking at his right arm he saw blood dripping out of his coat sleeve, the jacket hiding just how severe his wound was. The Exorcist just decided to label his arm as 'broken' and 'unusable.' Miraculously, his weapon was still in hand (blood sliding across it) and it seemed fine enough. The Innocence was also safe in his pocket, its green glow leaking out from it's confines.

And then the gunshots started going off. Ammy abruptly dodged by folding her wings and diving, painfully jarring the human held protectively within her hand-like paws. The dragon continued flying in a roller coaster like manner, causing Lavi no small amount of unintended pain, trying to avoid as many bullets as she could.

The Exorcist didn't know how long the flight lasted; all he knew was that when the orange dragon stopped moving finally and attempted to place him gently on the ground she was on the icy ground and the akuma was nowhere in sight, apparently left behind.

"_Stay here_." The dragon ordered in a harsh whisper, ears flickering around like saucers, indicating the akuma wasn't as far way as it seemed. "I will lead the creature away, and try to kill it. Do not move, Servant. You are hurt, and I will come back for you when I am done."

And then she flew away.

Lavi watched with one pain-blurred eye, observing her go and looking at the holes the level four's bullets had already created on one side of her. He used his left hand to pull his Innocence out of his bleeding right and gripped it as another bout of pain from his right side assaulted his brain. It took him an unknown amount of time to pull himself together again, panting and sweating beneath his civilian and Exorcist clothing.

The orange had laid him out around a grouping of rocks and shrubbery, probably in the hopes that the Exorcist would be able to hide there. But Lavi wasn't worried about himself for the moment. The picture that kept going through his mind was of the yellow dragon decomposing right before his eyes, turning into dust in the wind.

The yellow's Innocence still warmed his chest pocket, pulsing as if it were a heart beating. That was nothing unusual; Lavi had known Innocence fragments do such things since the first time he had held one.

His right side throbbed in time with the Innocence as he tried to force himself into a standing position. Partially succeeding as he made himself sit upright at least, fire burning painful notes up and down his arm and ribcage, he tried to get a better grasp on his surroundings as he leaned against a large boulder.

Gravel was scattered everywhere in sight, along with other boulders and some scant shrubbery that grew gnarled and twisted from the rough environment. The tinted blue sky was mostly blocked by the rough spires of rock that grew higher than the greenery to reach the sky, and he saw no clouds.

A cold wind hissed by the ruin like shelter of the wild, drying the sweat that beaded the injured Exorcist's forehead and stung the wound on his ear. Lavi hissed at the small discomfort, trying to focus on the minor pain instead of the major.

_By damned fucking God, it hurts!_ He internally cursed, because he knew that talking would probably only make the ribs on his right side hurt more. The Bookman couldn't tell whether or not the ribs were broken, but as long as he wasn't coughing blood it was alright; that meant that at least his right lung wasn't punctured.

But, after a few moments, Lavi found he could finally try to ignore the pain. So he did, shutting away the physical discomforts away in a corner of his mind to be pondered later, and forced himself to look over the damage.

Wincing at the sight of blood still dripping down his right sleeve, revealing that his arm was not only broken but that the bone had probably punctured the skin, Lavi quickly used his orange scarf as a makeshift sling for his arm (only vaguely aware of the white-hot pain he caused himself). He didn't bother to take off his jacket to look over his right side, knowing that it was probably a mass of bruises, and stood up carefully.

Both legs held and Lavi grinned at the small success, carefully leaning his left side on a boulder for support with his weapon in hand. He wobbled over to where he could get a glimpse of the horizon line, trying to get a grasp on where he was and on what time it was.

The sun had sunk down into the horizon, revealing that the Exorcist had laid trapped in pain for longer than he realized, worrying him. The dragon should have returned by now; any battle, no matter how grueling, could only last for so long.

Red brows narrowed, Lavi tried to stand without the support of the rock 'wall.' Almost falling flat on his face, legs unsteady and right arm unable to be used for balance, the Bookman quickly gave up on the thought of going out to look for the dragon himself.

The Exorcist decided that staying the night where he had been left was the best available option, especially considering how cold the Greenland nights could get. With a sigh, he looked for anything remotely usable for making a small fire. The only objects he found with his sight were rocks, very scrawny looking shrubs, and stars beginning to form on the eastern horizon.

Lavi tightened his grip on his hammer, wondering if he could use the Fire Seal to keep himself warm through the night. It wouldn't require as much energy as he usually used to destroy akuma; he only needed to keep himself warm.

It's worth a shot, at least. The last time he'd done such a thing, he hadn't been conscious of doing so (though Allen had assured him it had been done, while Rhode had been messing with his mind) but if it had been done once ...

Releasing a small Hi-Ban left handed, Lavi tired to concentrate on what he wanted as he released the serpent. The small snake coiled into existence, body the orange of a healthy fire and eyes a hotter yellow, it seemed to look at him curiously before wrapping carefully around his body.

It felt warm, but not as hot as fire was supposed to be while so close to his flesh, and his clothing didn't burst into flames as the serpent touched the cloth with it's body. The chill air seemed to warm around him as well, while the strange scent of the smokeless snake filled the small enclosed space created by the towering boulders.

"Thanks," Lavi said softly to his Innocence before sitting down to lean against one of the large rocks yet again. He didn't trust his legs enough to be able to support him for large amounts of time, and he was starting to felt the pain from his right side again.

It wasn't healthy to ignore pain for too long, Lavi knew, and hoped that the dragon would come back before the dawn.

**//DRDRDR//**

Ammy hissed, the largely torn-apart akuma still coming at her. She had torn off an arm and leg from the monster's side, but the creature was still fighting fit. It was charred as well, with one eye foaming from being melted beyond repair, and still it came at her with it's good arm transformed into a gun of mammoth proportions.

The dragon could feel the bullets as they pierced her scaly hide, and let out a roar filled with flame in the akuma's direction. The creature only dodged by a few inches, more of it's flesh becoming black and cracking from the intense heat even as the fire missed a direct hit. It was moving more slowly now, but so was the dragon.

She could feel blood beginning to ooze from the bullet wounds, though very slowly. The bullets themselves actually kept the injuries mostly sealed, and she could pull the metal out once the creature was dead and turned to ash.

It would take her Servant longer to heal from his wounds. With a snarl she flapped forward, head striking to tear off the akuma's remaining arm in her renewed rage at the thought of Lavi's bloodied form. The level four dodged out of the way and sent a volley of projectiles into her shoulder and wing.

But, because of how close it dared to come, the dragon was able to grab the akuma in her jaws even as it turned her shoulder into mincemeat. With a _crunch_ that echoed off of the mountaintops, half of the akuma's head went one way along with the remaining arm, and the other half fell with the torso to land and rot in parts unknown.

But Ammy was falling too. The wing that had faced the brunt of the final attack was torn and ripped; air whistling through the bleeding membrane. She tried to land as best she could with only one functioning wing, but the impact was still horribly jarring.

The hard, icy earth crushed the air from her lungs and forced a majority of the bullets deeper into her flesh as she came down hard enough to rebound, and come to meet the earth for a second time.

Shaking, and horribly aware of just how torn and battered she was now that she was no longer fighting and the adrenaline didn't pump through her system, she carefully turned her long neck to inspect herself.

From what she could see, her beautiful orange scales were splattered in red and bullets protruded from wounds all over her. The wounded wing—shredded, bloody, and limp—hung from her right side like a war-torn flag, barely connected to the equally damaged flesh that connected the wing joint at her shoulder.

She wouldn't be flying anytime soon, that much was obvious.

Slowly rising onto all fours, she shook herself off and loose bullets and blood fell to the landscape around her feet like a poisonous rain. Most of the metal protrusions remained, but she would tear them out as she dragged her body back to where she had left Lavi.

With the first step the raw flesh of her wing dragged across the rocky ground, her wounds ran with blood, and pain sang twisting cords up and down her spine from nose to tail tip. The orange snarled at her own weakness and tore one of the bullets free from the massive wound on her shoulder, frustarted.

It was going to be a long walk.

**//DRDRDR//  
**

Droog laughed, much to Lenalee's disappointment.

"It is not possible," the dragon posing as a blind beggar asserted. "It will take me many trips yet to get all of my belongings together. At the earliest, we will be leaving this place for your Order when the first snows begin to fall, no earlier."

The man shook his head, loosening the drops of the lake water that clung to his short, blond hair. He grinned at the now-slightly-wet Exorcist, dragon eyes shining in the dark.

The silver dragon only dared to go under the waves to get his belongings in the dark, when no one was looking, or far away from human docks, so that none of the people living nearby would ever guess at what sort of creature he really was, though he did wash himself off whenever he wanted to.

Lenalee looked at the already large pile of chests and boxes on dismay. _How much stuff does this dragon have?_ She wondered in faint amazement. Already, they had sent ahead more than what she had seen in the dragon's cavern. What more could there possibly be?

"I have been traveling the world for far too long," Droog laughed all the harder at her questioning face. "I'm afraid it has made a ... —what do you call it?— ... _hoarder_, out of me."

"What is all of this stuff?" The girl asked, knowing that not all of the barnacle crusted boxes could hold gold and treasure; it would be impossible to have that much wealth!

Droog grinned. "Treasures. Gold, silver, rubies, pearls, and more."

"It can't be good to keep all of that so wet." The Exorcist pointed out.

The 'blind' beggar just turned his grin into a small smile, feet still in the water. "Ah, but I have made sure these boxes are properly treated. Not a drop has touched the contents within, no matter how much the outside has been ravaged."

Droog examined his pants, frowned at the fact that they were soaked through because he had just gone to the bottom of the lake and back in them, and sighed.

"Why don't you just change?" Lenalee asked, handing the man-dragon his shirt and blindfold.

"Because I don't own another pair of pants?" The beggar returned in partial confusion, pulling the ragged clothing on.

"No," the Exorcist restated, "I meant why not just change into a dragon?"

"_Oh_." Droog blinked at the girl. "It's not that easy, you know. I can change my size in moments, but in changing the actual structure of my body from human to dragon ... that takes time. A few hours or so to shift all the way, and then a little while to get used to being back in my own skin ..." The dragon wrapped his blindfold on.

Unseen, Lenalee frowned. The Noah of Lust could change faster than that. _Far_ faster than that. But, then again, Droog had already asserted that he wasn't a fighter.

Fully cover by human clothing yet again, Droog searched for his cane. The Exorcist passed the wooden object into the beggar's searching hands.

"Come on," Lenalee said to him as the Finders came within sight, ready to start loading that nights batch of boxes, chests, and treasures. "We should get back to camp."

Droog tapped his cane on the ground for a moment, then said, "I would love to join you, but I think I'll just visit Inna tonight. The chill and hard ground will not bother me as much as a normal human; I am still a dragon, no matter the form."

Lenalee shrugged at that and went on her way, listening to the _tap, tap, tap_ of the blind man's cane as he made his way into the dark town from the shore where he had been swimming.

Many of the buildings were crushed and broken, their skeletons stretching to the sky like obsidian bones. But the blind beggar walked on past the wreckage, having a proper excuse not to see the fire-stripped ruins.

But, he could still smell the stench of the charred wood. The lingering taste of burnt flesh bitterly entered his mouth with the smell, and Droog frowned to himself.

"_Tiger, Tiger_," He whispered to himself as he tapped his way forward along the street to where his Chosen lived with her mother and sister, "_burning_ _bright_; _in the forests of the night_ ..."

Poetry was another treasure he loved to collect. Along with gold, virgins, and knowledge.

"_What immortal hand or eye; could frame thy fearful __symmetry_?"

**//DRDRDR//**

Smudge growled, low and deep, as he sat upon the top of the pyramid. He claws and scale scrapped the stone beneath him, but the black did not care.

They were surrounded.

The burning eye of the Egyptian god, Ra, glared from it's place at the edge of the world as the sea of sand began to swallow it and quench it's unending heat.

"Kanda," The dragon said, voice traveling all the way down to where the Exorcist was arguing with the new 'dragon sitter' they had found. The woman was clutching at her charge, a panicking blue who had never seen so many akuma before in his short time out of the egg, and yelling loudly at in English at Kanda, though with a slight accent.

"I _know_," The samurai yelled up, and then grabbed one of the archeologist's meaty arms and tossing her at one of the nearby group of Finders and ordering the company in white to hide themselves and the 'meat bag of a woman' somewhere in the maze of ruins inside.

They complacently dragged her away, kicking a screaming, while the blue was sandwiched between her and one of the many white arms dragging them both away.

Kanda drew his weapon and began leaping up the many stone blocks that made the pyramid. "How many?" He called up to the dragon as he made his way up.

"A great many." Smudge said, pointing forward towards the setting sun with an ebony claw as the Exorcist came upward at an amazing pace. "Coming from that way. Low leveled, though."

With a speed and grace not seen in most people, Yuu Kanda climbed onto the dragon with a ease that seemed impossible, considering the beast's size alone.

"Can you give me numbers?" The Exorcist said with a hint of annoyance.

"Hundreds. They are very slow." The great black head turned towards the young male on his back. The dragon's eye glittering in the gathering darkness. "Can we go now?"

"Che."

The answer was clear enough. The black flew off of the stone construct that had stood for thousands of years against wind and cold and heat, and flew as quietly as death to face the small army.

The dragon, black in the coming twilight, save for his eyes and teeth, tore into the demons as Ra's eye closed and his rider killed the monsters as easily as Death kills man.

The fire gone, only the black warriors remained in night's cold embrace as they fought demons in the dark.

**END 37. Fire, Fire**

AN:

Hmm. Yup. It's shorter than the last few chapters have been ... curses. But everything is moving along nicely now ... I may be able to *_mumble-mumble_* next chapter and *_mumble-mumble_* with that character ...

*continues to ponder future plot points tiredly*

Hm, and I'll be updating as the chapters come out, instead of waiting for Tues. But, it will still be semi-long waits for you guys; I have to write the chapter, send it to my wonderful beta, get it back for the super-amazing beta, and then give the chapter one final look-over before posting. Otherwise, mistakes run rabid like mutant blot-bunnies.

Oh, don't forget to Review on the way out ...

-knux33

Gremlin: *yells* HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Luke: _?_ *shrug* _Well, the story has also passed 200,000 words_.

Nathan: *rolls eyes with a snort* I just hope the author elects to feed us something more substantial than thin, watery reviews in the coming human year. And takes up some obviously needed writing classes.


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